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Syrian refugee story is named the top short film at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival

A 13-minute dark comedy about Syrian refugees has won the top prize for short films at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

“Aziza,” by Syrian director Soudade Kaadan, won the Grand Jury Prize for Short Film, at a ceremony Tuesday night in Park City. Kaadan also edited and, with May Hayek, co-wrote the film.

The film was selected from 73 short films screening at the festival, which were chosen from 9,443 submissions. The members of the three-person jury were: Actor Sheila Vand (“We the Animals”), playwright Young Jean Lee, and filmmaker and photographer Carter Smith (“Jamie Marks Is Dead”).