OSN’s first original feature YELLOW BUS takes home Global Vision Award at Cinequest Film & Creativity Film Festival
Marking its second award, OSN’s first original feature YELLOW BUS by Wendy Bednarz has won the prestigious Global Vision Award (Jury Award for Best Feature Film) at the Cinquest Film & Creativity Film Festival, which concluded its events on Sunday, March 17th in San Jose, California.
This exciting news comes ahead of the film’s highly-anticipated theatrical release across the Arab world and on the MENA-popular streaming platform.
A few days ago, solidifying its position as a groundbreaking universal film that fits into a diverse audience, the film snagged the top prize at South Africa’s Joburg Film Festival, marking its first award in a festival tour that started with a banging world-premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
During the film’s premiere in Toronto, Bednarz spoke to Variety magazine, expressing her inspiration to give a voice to marginalized individuals facing unconscious bias in Middle Eastern society, stating, “It’s a dance here to tell these stories truthfully, to give voice to these stories, even invisible people, I was challenged on that.”
YELLOW BUS also captivated further audiences with its powerful storytelling and impressive performance at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in India.
So far, the film has enjoyed rave reviews across the board, with Liz Braun of Original Cin lauding it as “a heartbreaking tale of tragedy and cultural displacement” and Winnie Wang from Cinema Scope describing it as “a moving portrait of a woman’s unwavering commitment to justice for all.”
Painting a world that highlights the textures of the desert landscape and the diversity of its people, YELLOW BUS centers around a mother’s journey to grieve the loss of her child and her quest for forgiveness while exploring themes of alienation and connection and reflecting on the experiences of individuals living in a multicultural environment.
In the scorching heat of the Arabian Gulf, the daughter of an Indian family is accidentally left behind on a school bus, leading to her tragic death. As each family member reacts differently to the situation, the mother, shattered by grief, refuses to settle until she uncovers the truth about what happened to her daughter and ensures that those responsible are held accountable for their negligence. Will she ultimately succeed in her quest and find solace in accepting the accident?
Written and directed by American filmmaker Wendy Bednarz, the film stars Kinda Alloush alongside Bollywood Indian star Tannishtha Chatterjee, who won the Best Actress Award at several international festivals, including the British Independent Film Awards for her role in the British film BRICK LANE, as well as Bollywood star Amit Sial, known for the famous series INSIDE EDGE that was nominated for the International Emmy Awards in 2018, and Aarushi Laud, a new face director Wendy Bednarz discovered in Dubai, who immaculately plays the child that puts everything in motion.
The film is a co-production between the US, India, Jordan, and the UAE that is written and directed by American filmmaker Wendy Bednarz and produced by Jordanian producer and founder of Screen Project Nadia Eliewat — who worked on the award-winning film WHEN MONALIZA SMILED — alongside Founder of Sikhya Entertainment Guneet Monga, whose short documentary THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER won an Academy Award.
With MAD Solutions handling the international sales rights as well as theatrical rights across the Arab World, YELLOW BUS was lensed by the award-winning French Tunisian cinematographer Sofian El-Fani, who has won many international accolades, including the César Award for his film TIMBUKTU. El-Fani’s other notable works include BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR and IT MUST BE HEAVEN — both of which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival — and Netflix’s original film PERFECT STRANGERS.
Wendy Bednarz is a writer, director, and arts professor at Abu Dhabi’s New York University. Before becoming a filmmaker, she cut her teeth in NYC’s fashion industry, working for Stephen Sprouse at the old Andy Warhol Factory, where she developed a taste for the offbeat and a love for still and moving images.
She then wrote and directed the featurette documentary BURNING MONEY (2018) and several narrative shorts as well, including LEAVING GUSSIE (2007), ON CRYSTAL (2010), and AURORA (2000). YELLOW BUS is her debut fiction feature.
