User Reviews

We are the team of the Internacional Film Festival of Bilbao "Cine Invisible" and we are very glad to have this short film within our film election for the festival. The story about the refugee in Athens make you feel the problem and the situation very intensly. There are great pictures among the film and the quality is high. These type of creations could make people change their mind and realise how the world in going on like.

An unfeigned portrayal of a day in the life of a refugee trying to survive in Athens. With the European refugee crisis capturing headlines all over the world in the past couple of years, it is rewarding to comprehend the subject with a human drama told in a non-sensationalised way like this one. It feels even more real (or maybe more relatable is the word) than news or documentary footages. Mahdi Fleifel is another aspiring director to watch out for from the new crop of talented filmmakers from the Middle East.

Mahdi Fleifel's latest short is an powerful description of the what it means to survive as a refugee in a foreign country. Great actors, strong script and incredible cinematography. Highly recommended!!!

This is one of the best angles I've seen on the global refugee crisis. Watch it, it's 15 minutes but its impact is stronger than many feature length films.

Even though the story focuses in Athenas - Greece, this short reflects the sadly situation of refugees in general. It captivates you from the beginning and it makes empathize with the protagonist, in his situation and desperate way to survive. The way the cinematographic language is used, makes you feel the intensity of this conflict, but also it allows you to know him on a deeper level without having to say anything, or learning about him through any specific dialogues. It is completely visual, and we don't need anymore information further than these pure images. That's the way that truly cinema is really done, with a little spice of reality shown to makes us feel, and think about this problems that matters and are still present all over the world. So, without saying any further, we are thrill to having this short soon in Latin's America most important short festival: SHORTS MÉXICO. 10/10

A story with powerfull characters and realistic performance. Mahdi Fleifel , is able to create such a nostalgic, engrossing story like never before. A great and dedicated Director with potential to make you wish to see more of his films!

A quiet, introspective short about the daily life of a young Palestinian man's struggle to make it through daily life as a refugee in Athens.

Far more is conveyed to us through what isn't said, and what isn't shown directly, than what is seen or told through dialogue. The musical cues, environmental sounds, and quietness of each moment tells us far more than any spoken words could tell us without feeling unwieldy.

Though it's 7 years old at the time of this review, it still feels more relevant then any sensationalised news story, and does a lot more to help humanise the struggle faced by refugees everywhere, not just in Athens and not just of Palestinian descent.

"A Drowning Man" is one of the last shorts made by prolific Dubai filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel, and the one that certainly proves that he is more than ready to take the leap towards his first feature.

The subject is poignant -a day in the life of a refugee in Athens who navigates public spaces in search of food and cigarettes- and couldn't be more relevant, regarding the refugee crisis that Europe is living nowadays.

Fleifel shots the main character always on the move, through a restless but controlled camera work that allows the viewer to get into the atmosphere and timing, and to really feel what he is striving for: not only cigarettes but a real escape to the oppressive situation.

Finally, "A Drowning Man" remains as the depiction of a brief but powerful slice of life, and also as a powerful depiction of dignity versus abuse in the context of an urgent situation.

A Drowning Man makes visible the terrible situation refugees falls into before our blind eyes and restores sight!

A poignant, thought provoking and touching examination of an impoverished refugee struggling to survive in Athens.

This Short-Movie is very interesting to see the situation of refugees in Greece, how they try to survive!

We've decided to screen this short film in the near edition of the Reggio Film Festival because after so many beautiful works that tell the venturesome journey of these people to Europe (by boats, track etc..) it shows very well the story of one arrived on the other side of the sea, but now living with no hope and nothing to do every day. The director follows the day of one immigrant in Athens, but we feel like him there are many others, that the city could be a Naples, Marseilles, Barcelona.... This is the story of many men and women living close to us, in our cities and in our squares.

In "A drowning man", Mahdi Fleifel shows a day in the life of a Palestinian immigrant living in Greece. The action starts with the basic human needs, the character just wants to get some money to eat and buy cigarettes. Until he gets it, the director builds a tale of desperation but without falling on a miserabilist nor melodramatic perspective. It's a great short to watch another way of portraying immigration, different from the one shown by big media.