Arab cinema: Asian award, Berlin premiere and Palestinian moment
- 18 Mar 2024
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
Amjad Al-Rasheed’s critically acclaimed Jordanian feature and the country’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards Inshallah A Boy has won the Best First Film Award as part of the Asian Cinema Competition at the 15th Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFF, Feb. 29 – Mar. 7) in Bengaluru, India.
Since its world premiere at the time-honoured Cannes Film Festival — where it was one of the first two Jordanian films to be featured at the event and received two prestigious awards — the film has enjoyed a noteworthy festival tour, bringing home its fair share of trophies. The most recent of these accolades is the Best Performance Award from the Red Sea International Film Festival and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the Best Actress Award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the Best Screenplay for a Narrative Feature Award from the Mystic Film Festival, and the Golden Frog for Best Directorial Debut at the esteemed Camerimage IFF in Poland.
The film also scored the Women’s Jury Award and the Grand Jury Award at the Paysages de Cineastes Festival as well as Best Actress and a Jury Award at the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival. Inshallah A Boy has screened at over 30 prestigious film festivals such as the Karlovy Vary, Melbourne, Toronto, BFI London, Sydney, Hamburg, Stockholm, Ghent, Busan, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, Montclair, Chennai, Palm Springs, and Kerala film festivals.
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Inshallah A Boy tells the story of the recently widowed Nawal, who has to save her daughter and home following her husband’s death in a society where having a son is a game changer. Directed by Al-Rasheed and co-written alongside Delphine Agut and Rula Nasser, the film stars Mouna Hawa, Haitham Omari, Salwa Nakkara, Yumna Marwan, Mohammad Al-Jizawi, Islam Al-Awadi, and Celina Rabab’a.
It was produced by Imaginarium Films and co-produced by Georges Films and Bayt Al-Shawareb. MAD Solutions and Lagoonie Film Production are in charge of distributing it in the Arab world, and Pyramide International is handling international sales and distribution in France. Inshallah A Boy is the second collaboration between Al-Rasheed and MAD Solutions, as the company had distributed the short film The Parrot which he co-directed.
A Jordanian director and writer born in 1985, Al-Rasheed holds an MFA in cinematic arts with a focus on directing and editing. In 2016, he was selected by Screen International as one of five Arab Stars of Tomorrow — a list highlighting the up-and-coming young talents of the region. His filmography includes The Parrot, a short film he co-directed in 2016 that was funded by the Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung; Hit The Road (2011); and Bitter Days (2010). Rula Nasser is an independent Jordanian producer with extensive experience in different aspects of the production of commercials, TV series, and low-budget films, all the way to big-budget studio films.
Also, on February 18, in a heartfelt and sincere acceptance speech, Mohannad Al-Bakri, MD of Jordanian Royal Film Commission (RFC), dedicated the Arab Cinema Personality of the Year Award, which he received from the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) at this year’s edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), to Palestinian filmmakers, while also acknowledging the ACC’s role in elevating the film industry and amplifying the voices of Arab storytellers on a global scale.
Expressing his deep appreciation for the recognition, Al-Bakri shed light on the challenging circumstances Palestine is grappling with currently. He said: “I dedicate this award, in this very difficult period time in our region, to all the filmmakers and artists in Palestine, Gaza, and the West Bank. More than ever, their voices need to be heard. We cannot help but hope strongly for their safety against all odds.”
After starting at the RFC in 2007 as a capacity-building manager, Al-Bakri quickly rose to the title of managing director by 2009. Before that, he began his professional career at the Hashemite Fund for Human Development, where he developed programmes promoting the role of youth in society. Established by MAD Solutions, ACC is a nonprofit organisation registered in Berlin. It provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions involved in co-production, international sales and distribution, film festivals, commercial exhibitions and industry events. ACC also publishes Arab Cinema Magazine, which it distributes at leading international film festivals and markets.
Myriam El Hajj’s Lebanese feature-length documentary Diaries From Lebanon also held its world premiere at the Panorama Section of the Berlinale, where it was received with warm praise and a standing ovation from the audiences, celebrities, and media personnel in attendance. The docudrama takes place in Lebanon, where, in the form of diaries, the filmmaker narrates four tumultuous years of a nation in turmoil, battling to break free from its chains. As the country is shaken by disruptions, personal quests for meaning and survival unfold. How can we continue to dream when the world around us is collapsing? is the question in the forefront. El Hajj is a Lebanese filmmaker whose first feature-length documentary A Time To Rest, premiered at Visions du Reel-Nyon in 2015 and screened at several international festivals, winning multiple awards. She teaches cinema at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts and is a member of several film commissions, including the CNC and Doha Film Institute. She’s also a founding member of Rawiyat-Sisters in Film, which is a collective of women filmmakers from the Arab world and the diaspora.