Jordanian cinema had a significant representation at this year’s Venice International Film Festival with four Jordanian films receiving special recognition.
Jordanian Director, Naji Abu Nowar, won Best Director Award for his film Theeb at The Orizzonti (New Horizons) Competition. The film’s world premiere was highly acclaimed by the audience, who gave the director a standing ovation.
The winning film, Theeb was supported by The Film Train Programme initiated by the Royal Film Commission- Jordan (RFC). This programme invests in training of film crew and provides financial incentives to film producers. RFC also facilitated the filming of the movie and provided production services.
Another Jordanian short film – In Overtime by Rami Yasin - was well received by the audience. It was selected for the Short Film Official Competition in The Orizzonti (New Horizons) section.
Two Jordanian Documentaries in production The Council by Yahya Alabdallah and Posessed by Djinn by Dalia Al Kury – received grants from The Venice Film Market’s Final Cut, which provides support and partnership opportunities for films from Africa, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Al Kury’s film had previously received a grant by the Co-production Market Programme by the Robert Bosch Foundation in cooperation with RFC.
