Posted by Amid an extraordinary month of fierce competition, Salem Not Salem — written, directed, and starring Bahraini filmmaker Omar Farooq — has been named the Best Short of December 2025 at Indie Short Fest.
The film captivated our jury with its bold, empathetic exploration of mental health, its powerful central performance, and a narrative that moves fluidly through time and emotion, ultimately offering a visceral, humane portrait of psychological struggle and resilience.
Inside Salem’s World
Salem Not Salem follows the journey of Salem, a gifted and ambitious university student whose mental state begins to deteriorate suddenly and mysteriously. As he spirals into hallucinations, delusions, and emotional breakdowns, his close friend Muath and his sister Huda strive to help him.
The story unfolds against a shifting timeline of past, present, and future, moving between the university, spiritual healing sessions, a public breakdown in the marketplace, and his path through psychiatric care — all framed by Salem’s deep-rooted faith and the tensions between traditional and modern treatment.
This layered psychological narrative sensitively portrays the complexity of mental illness and the challenges of supporting someone through a crisis.
Why the Jury Took Notice
The jury responded strongly to Salem Not Salem for the precision and restraint with which it portrays psychological collapse. Rather than explaining or simplifying Salem’s condition, the film allows the audience to experience his disorientation from the inside — using structure, performance, and pacing to mirror the instability of his inner world. This approach gives the film its emotional weight, grounding larger themes of stigma and compassion in an intensely personal human experience.
The jury also highlighted the film’s striking cinematography. The visual landscape of Salem Not Salem is shaped by Tunisian cinematographer Walid Tiahi, a seasoned camera artist known for his work on regional narrative films and visual projects, whose expressive framing and lighting help deepen the film’s psychological texture. Through carefully composed frames, controlled lighting, and a visual language that subtly shifts with the character’s mental state, the camera becomes an extension of Salem’s inner turmoil, reinforcing the emotional weight of the story and deepening the audience’s immersion in his experience.
A Voice from Bahrain — About the Director
Omar Farooq began his journey in media and filmmaking in 2010 while still in high school. He studied Media at the University of Bahrain and Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy in the United States.
Combining his passion for directing and storytelling, he launched the popular short documentary series Omar Tries, which focuses on travel, human experiences, and cultural immersion. The series has attracted a massive global audience across YouTube and social platforms, making Farooq one of the most influential content creators in the Arab world.
Farooq has received numerous prestigious accolades, including the Gulf Excellence Shield presented by the King of Bahrain, and he was named to Forbes Middle East’s “30 Under 30” list in the entertainment category. His work spans impactful social content and thought-provoking cinema that bridges cultural relevance with emotional insight.
A Film Made with Responsibility
Omar shares that Salem Not Salem was more than a creative project, it was a personal calling. Inspired by real experiences of loved ones affected by bipolar disorder, he aimed to create a film that could shift how audiences perceive mental illness, fostering understanding, empathy, and open conversation.
“If it can help even one person view mental health with more understanding and compassion, then it’s done its job… Salem Not Salem doesn’t tell a story of recovery as much as it reflects the reality of living with one’s shadow — learning not to fight it, but to live alongside it.”
Authenticity guided every step of the film’s production, with a clinical psychologist involved from early drafts through completion to ensure respectful, accurate representation.
A Film That Defines the Month
Shot on a thoughtful budget of $67,000, Salem Not Salem is a 28-minute short film that features a powerful lead performance by Omar Farooq himself, bringing both creative and emotional investment to the film’s heart.
The Best Short of the Season honor — now bestowed upon Salem Not Salem for December 2025 — highlights the film’s artistic achievement and its impactful contribution to the ongoing conversation around mental health in cinema.
Salem Not Salem is a 2025–2026 Indie Short Fest Annual Awards Finalist, making it a contender for the festival’s upcoming annual nominations and further recognition.
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