Casablanca – The 83rd Venice International Film Festival wrapped up on September 12, with Moroccan filmmaker Shaden Safieddine Tazi taking home the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.
Her film, “Quelques instants de bonheur,” won the award during the festival’s closing ceremony. The 18-minute documentary was one of 13 short films competing in the Orizzonti Short Films International Competition.
A story between Beirut and Paris
Tazi’s film follows a young filmmaker who has left Beirut for Paris while watching the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon from afar. She calls her father every day and begins recording her digital life, turning her phone into a window onto the war and a record of her life in exile.
The documentary moves between personal distance and the reality unfolding back home.
The film’s intimate perspective is closely tied to Tazi’s own reflection on memory and distance. In a statement published by the Venice Biennale, she reflects on this relationship.
“History is told the way childhood is, as a fable, to those willing to believe it, to those who do not remember their own. But I remember my childhood perfectly. For a quarter of a century, as they say, I observed, always at a distance.”
“Quelques instants de bonheur” also moves between French, Arabic, and English, reflecting the different spaces and experiences at the heart of its story.
The festival lists Tazi as both the director and one of the film’s producers, alongside 1991 Productions.
A competitive Orizzonti lineup
The Orizzonti section brought together 19 feature films and 13 short films in competition this year. The jury included French director, actress, and screenwriter Valérie Donzelli as president, alongside Peter Becker, Elizabeth Lo, David Pablos, and Barbara Ronchi.
The jury also awarded Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni’s “Un Détour par Diane” the Orizzonti Award for Best Film. Jacqueline Lentzou won Best Director, while Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu’s “La maison du vent” (“House of the Wind”) received the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize.
A new milestone for Tazi
The Venice recognition adds another important moment to Tazi’s filmmaking journey. In 2025, the Moroccan filmmaker received support from the Ateliers de l’Atlas, before bringing “Quelques instants de bonheur” to one of the world’s major film festivals.
For Moroccan cinema, her win adds another international spotlight to a new generation of filmmakers bringing personal stories and fresh perspectives to global audiences.
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