The festival

Guests

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

Journalist, producer, actor

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin is American-Kuwaiti with Palestinian roots. He is an Emmy-nominated journalist, producer and actor, known for, among other things, the award-winning BBC documentary Queer Egypt Under Attack (2023) and for starting Al Jazeera English's flagship program The Stream. He is also known for documenting the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.

Thee Yezen Al-Obaide

Writer, activist, filmmaker

Thee Yezen Al-Obaide is born in Iraq and came to Kristiansand, Norway, with his family when he was 17. He is a writer, queer activist, and founder of Salam, an organization for queer Muslims in Norway.



Mahmoud Albishtawi

Filmmaker, writer, artist

Mahmoud Albishtawi is a filmmaker, writer, and artist. Formally educated at the Lebanese University, Mahmoud's artistic style is known for its survivalist approach, constantly connected to reality yet full of fiction. His work explores themes of exile, love, and the absurdity of life.

Matthew Fifer

Director HAZE

Matthew Fifer is the director of Haze and co-director of Cicada, winner of the BLIKK Audience Award at Oslo/Fusion 2020.