by Sherif Awad

In his statement, Fadi EL Lawand, the founder and president of the festival, said:

“Since my early years in Lebanon as an actor and
writer-director of theatrical plays to my immigration to Europe where I lived
between the Netherlands then Belgium and Sweden, my dream was to organize a
film festival that reflects hope for humankind regardless color, gender or
religion.

Finally, I was able to think out of the box when I met my
wife Jehan and our young child Karim who is challenged with autism. This was
the starting point of the Hope International Film Festival (HIFF) that promises
to screen quality films with touching stories that should bring us together
from all over the world to provide support for those with special needs or
suffering from critical issues.

I want to thank all my friends and colleague worldwide who
helped us in realizing this first edition here in Stokholm after it was
postponed for a whole year because of COVID-19, another challenge that we are
still facing as human beings. Also, I would like to thank our sponsors,
partners and of course our staff.

With HIFF, we promise to be here, same time, each year for
more hope, love and prosperity”.

Festival Selection and Guests in addition to tributes are found hereunder: