The Persian-language horror film Under the Shadow is set during the Iran-Iraq war where bombing campaigns slowly tear a mother and daughter apart. As they struggle to stay together in the midst of war, their grip on reality is threatened by a mysterious evil that stalks their apartment. Filmed in Jordan, the film is a co-production between the Qatar, Jordan and the UK.
The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) on Sunday awarded Anvari with the screenplay prize and the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director, and Avin Manshadi, its nine-year-old star, won supporting actress.
BAFTA has selected the film as the UK’s foreign-language Oscar entry.
American Honey by Andrea Arnold won four awards, including best British independent film and the director prize. Dave Johns won the best actor award for Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake which took home the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
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