Film festival season is upon us, and there’s a new one that’s gaining a lot of anticipation: the Amman International Film Festival.
Having been postponed due to COVID-19, the film festival—which is Jordan’s first—is officially back on. With nine Arab films in the line-up, along with 30 international titles from across the world, the festival will open with the screening of the highly acclaimed Oscar-nominated film ‘Les Miserables’, directed by French-Malian filmmaker Ladj Ly.
As for Arab films, the festival will also feature the award-winning Sudanese film, ‘You Will Die At Twenty’, which after making rounds at film festivals across the globe, snagged the Luigi De Laurentiis Award at Venice Film Festival as well as the top prize at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival.
Palestinian film ‘Between Heaven and Earth’ is also on the roster. The film, directed by Najwa Najjar, is centred around a Palestinian couple’s divorce proceedings, and the hurdles they have to jump as Israeli nationals.
A Moroccan film, entitled ‘The Women in Block J’ will also be premiered. The film, directed by Mohamed Nadif, tells the story of three women who escape a psychiatric ward in Casablanca. Then there’s ‘A Son’, a Tunisian film directed by Tunisian filmmaker Mehdi Barsaoui, which tells the story of a family that finds itself embroiled with extremists, who shoot and kill their young child—ultimately uncovering a major family secret.
Amman Film Festival runs from August 23 – August 31
