Ghassan Saad Wins Best Actor at Karlovy Vary 2026 for Pipes

Karlovy Vary, 3-11 July 2026 | Ghassan Saad received the Best Actor Award for his role in Karim Kassem's Pipes, which premiered in the Crystal Globe Competition.

At 71, Ghassan Saad came to Karlovy Vary as a non-professional actor. By the end of the festival, his performance in Pipes had earned him the Best Actor Award.

The film, directed by Lebanese filmmaker Karim Kassem, premiered in the Crystal Globe Competition at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Film Director Karim Kassem, Production Manager Fayçal Hassaïri and Assistant Director, Co-writer Nadia Hassan

In Pipes, Ghassan Saad plays Hassan, a retired water authority worker who spent years dealing with the village’s pipes and water problems. Retirement has not changed everything. When something breaks, people still come looking for him.

Then the village’s main water supply stops working.

The timing is difficult for Hassan. A close friend has recently died in circumstances he does not fully understand, and his questions about the death begin to unfold alongside the growing water crisis.

Rather than pushing these two strands forward quickly, Karim Kassem stays close to Hassan’s daily life. Conversations, small routines and periods of silence are given space, while the mystery surrounding his friend’s death develops gradually in the background.

That same pace shapes the way the film is shot. Karim Kassem, who also served as cinematographer, often holds on scenes rather than cutting quickly between them. The village and its damaged water system slowly become part of Hassan’s own experience of grief, ageing and responsibility.

Written by Karim Kassem and Nadia Hassan, Pipes runs for 114 minutes and was completed in 2025 as a co-production between Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

For Karim Kassem, the film follows Only The Winds (2020), Octopus (2021), Thiiird (2023) and Moondove (2024). Across these works, the Lebanese filmmaker has often stayed close to ordinary lives shaped by the social and economic conditions of contemporary Lebanon.

At Karlovy Vary, however, the attention returned to Ghassan Saad. A 71-year-old non-professional actor left the festival with its Best Actor Award, giving Pipes one of the main prizes of its world premiere.

Film Details

Pipes
Director: Karim Kassem
Screenplay: Karim Kassem, Nadia Hassan
Cinematography: Karim Kassem
Countries: Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
Year: 2025
Runtime: 114 minutes
Section: Crystal Globe Competition
Premiere: World Premiere
Award: Best Actor, Ghassan Saad

For more updates on cinema and arts from the Middle East, follow me here.