Ghost Hunting (Istiyad Ashbah), a French-Swiss-Palestinian co-production directed by Raed Andoni, won the Glashutte Original Documentary Award at this year's Berlin International Film Festival -- a new award added to the festival this year. The film follows a group of Palestinians formerly detained in Israeli prisons, filming themselves and re-enacting some of their experiences. Ghost Hunting competed in the Panorama Dokumenta section of the festival, which focused on the theme Authoritarian Regimes Under Surveillance. Sixteen films competed for the The Glashutte Original Documentary Award, which drew entries from the festival's following programmes: Competition, Panorama, Forum, Generation, Berlinale Special and Perspektive Deutsches Kino, as well as the Culinary Cinema special series. The prize is funded by the Saxony-based watch manufacturer Glashütte Original, and is worth EUR 50,000 to be split between the director and producer. In September 2016, Ghost Hunting was among five films selected for the Venice Film Festival's Final Cut workshop, which supports film crews from Africa and the Middle East in the post-production stage. Film director and producer Raed Andoni has addressed political issues in his work before, such as in Summer 2006, Palestine,” a compilation of scenes shot by several Palestinian filmmakers, showing various aspects of life in the occupied Palestinian territories. Berlinale's Golden Bear was awarded to the Hungarian film On Body and Soul. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
