Can you tell us about yourself?
My name is Tawfeek Barhom, I am a director, actor, and screenwriter. I grew up in a fragmented environment, crossed by borders, and this has profoundly shaped my way of telling stories: so my work often revolves around memory, identity, what we choose or not to face.
How did you feel when you found out you were selected for the Cannes Film Festival?
When I learned about the selection, I was very happy indeed, but I did not experience it in a simple or purely euphoric way. I have always wanted to make films and I have long been bypassing obstacles by becoming an actor to be closer to the sets and learn. When the news came, I was in Palestine in a somewhat complicated situation. But there was this immense joy, and also the very concrete feeling that a door was opening.
You won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film in 2025: what has this prize changed in your life?
Receiving this prize was very important and I experienced it with a lot of gratitude and joy. What it changed above all is that it confirmed a desire I had been carrying for a long time: to make films. And above all, it gave me a form of anchoring, of stability. It made the prospect of a first feature film, not simple, but truly and concretely possible.
«If there is one thing I have learned along the way, it is perhaps not to wait for permission to do your own thing.»
What are your best memories from the Festival?
What I especially remember from this experience is being able to share it with the people who made the film. In the team, some had been there for a long time, others became a family while doing it, and that is probably what remains the most.
Do you have any ongoing projects?
Today I am preparing my first feature film and it is a story that I have mastered for a very long time. When I realized that, to direct, I also had to write, I put this project on hold to go through the short film and learn to write. Today, I am returning to this first story that I have been carrying for a long time and filming is approaching.
Do you have any advice to share with the new generation of filmmakers?
I believe I would be in no position to give advice because there are no rules or instructions for making films. But if there is one thing I have learned along the way, it is perhaps not to wait for permission to do your own thing.
Is there a film you would like to introduce? And why?
Last and First Man by Johan Johansson. It is a very singular film that has had a big impact on me. There is something in its form, in its rhythm and visual power that deeply touches me. It is a film that still accompanies me today.
