Acclaimed Bahraini filmmaker Aziz Altamimi has been honoured on the international stage, winning the award for ‘best director’ for his short film that explores the lives of social media influencers.
The KM Studio director and Green Bee managing director took the Golden Lion International Film Festival Award for Best Director – Short Film, for his 10-minute feature, Influencer Inc., which competed against 400 films for the honour.
The Kolkata-based festival recognises the talent and supports the career of artists working in the film industry as writers, directors, producers, actors, cinematographers, editors and composers.
Speaking to the GDN, Mr Altamimi expressed his joy in winning the accolade, stating that news of his success ‘practically came from out of nowhere’.
“I am incredibly grateful,” he said. “We entered the film but nobody told us that we were actually being shortlisted.
A scene from the film
“I was working on another project and was on my way back to Bahrain when I got the notification on my phone saying that I had won,” he said. “A panel of critics judged the entries, which is fantastic because I would love to turn Influencer Inc. into a TV show in the future. Having a major credit to its name will go a long way to achieving this goal.
“The Golden Lion International Film Festival Award is very well known among the film community worldwide and for them to have our back, and choose us from 400 other films, means the world to me.
“Being a director is not an easy job, so it is great to see your efforts pay off.”
Mr Altamimi
Influencer Inc. features a star-studded cast including Jasmin Mitchell, John Bowler from The Bill, Rachel Stockdale from Netflix’s The Black Prince and Kitty Devlin, widely known for her portrayal of Miss Stowell in Bridgerton. She is currently starring as recurring debutant Dolores Stowell in the new season of show on Netflix.
The film unravels the vibrant yet complex world of social media through the lens of ‘Jasmin’, a celebrated influencer who is overwhelmed by her online success.
She seeks to expand her team by hiring an assistant and conducts live interviews, creating a public spectacle of the selection process. Candidates range from the absurdly unqualified to the bizarrely eccentric, offering a satirical glimpse into the new-age ‘influencer culture’.
Mr Altamimi heaped praise on the actors and attributed the award to their talent and dedication.
“They made me win the award,” he said. “These actors are mega stars, people that I have worked with before and I knew I could always rely on.
“They have amazing name value and such good experience. My directing might have had limitations if it wasn’t for them.
“There is only so much a director can do, it was the actors that made me look good, and I will always be grateful to them for that.
“I don’t believe that a director should be taking credit for his directing because there are limitations to what you can achieve without the right cast and crew members.
“Even the best directors in the world will tell you that you are only as good as your actors.”
The announcement naming Influencer Inc as the winner
Mr Altamimi is hoping to carry this momentum forward towards the next major screening at the highly prestigious Tees Valley International Film Festival 2025 in October.
Based in the northeast of England, the festival aims to kick-start a new generation of creatives, across all aspects of the craft of filmmaking.
“It is one of the biggest in England,” said Mr Altamimi. “The northeast is one of the most incredible places on earth. I lived there, I loved the people, and it means a lot to me to screen the film there.
“When I was writing it, I wanted to be sure I had a character from the region in it too and ended up with two!
“Ms Stockdale, for example, is from the port town of Middlesbrough, so it meant a lot to her and it means a lot to me, because the northeast of England is the love of my life!”
Mr Altamimi, a third generation UK-based filmmaker, was influenced by films from a very young age. His grandfather Aziz Mandi was a makeup artist in the 60s to the early 2000s, his father Khaled Mandi was a music composer and his uncle Fahad Mandi was also a part of the film industry.
His previous works include Arsenal Football Club’s Arsenal Summer Camp and Becoming the Queen of the North, filmed alongside his father, and The Stars Align.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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