Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film Announces Its Outstanding Screening Programme

Amman, 10/6/2025 – The Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF) is delighted to unveil its official film programme for the sixth edition, scheduled to take place from 2^nd  to 10^th of  July 2025. In line with this year’s theme, “A World Unscripted”, the programme brings together bold, original voices and compelling diverse cinematic experiences from the Arab world and beyond, while staying true to the Festival’s mission of celebrating mainly first-time achievements.

This year’s carefully curated selection includes over 60 films representing 23 countries, which will be screened in three venues in Amman: Taj Cinemas, The Royal Film Commission – Jordan and Rainbow Theatre as well as in Jordan’s Governorates. The AIFF is proud to offer 23 regional premieres, out of which 16 are world premieres. We are also honoured to showcase several powerful exclusive stories from the heart of bleeding Gaza. 

The Festival took the initiative to integrate sign language in some films, making them accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. To reach out to a larger audience, most of the films will be subtitled in both English and Arabic. In addition, three free public screenings – of films outside the official program – will be held in Abdali Boulevard.  

The AIFF’s Head of Programming, Areeb Zuaiter, commented: “We turn to the seventh art to resist the narratives imposed upon us. In this upcoming edition, filmmakers pour their hearts into stories that defy distortion – stories that pulse with truth, complexity, creativity and courage. We are eager to bring these stories, both from our region and beyond, to the big screen and to make them accessible to the widest possible audience.”

There are four competitive sections, for which professional juries will grant the Black Iris and Special Mention awards: Arab Feature-Length Narrative Films, Arab Feature Documentary Films, Arab Short Films and Non-Arab Films.
The Festival is still working with distributors on securing some additional titles for further enriching the program.

Arab Feature-Length Narrative Films:

• Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo, directed by Khaled Mansour – Egypt
• Red Path, directed by Lotfi Achour – Tunisia
• To A Land Unknown, directed by Mahdi Fleifel – Palestine
• Songs of Adam, directed by Oday Rasheed – Iraq
• Algiers, directed by Chakib Taleb Bendiab – Algeria
• The Village Next to Paradise, directed by Mo Harawe – Somalia
• Spring Came on Laughing, directed by Noha Adel – Egypt
• Simsim, directed by Sondos Smerat – Jordan
• Têtes Brûlées, directed by Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama – Tunisia
• Thank You for Banking With Us!, directed by Laila Abbas – Palestine

Arab Feature Documentary Films:

• Abo Zaabal 89, directed by Bassam Mortada – Egypt
• We Are Inside, directed by Farah Kassem – Lebanon
• A Frown Gone Mad, directed by Omar Mismar – Lebanon
• Time Out 22, directed by Ali Kazwini – Syria
• Mother of Schools, directed by Abdallah Essa – Jordan
• (Y)our Mother, directed by Samira El Mouzghibati – Morrocco
• Tell Them About Us, directed by Rand Beiruty – Jordan

 Arab Short Films: (First-Time Director)

• Are You a Rabbit?  directed by Hatem Emam – Egypt
• CHIKHA, directed by Ayoub Layoussifi & Zahoua Raji – Morocco
• A City Drowned With Details, directed by George Ashkar – Syria
• Bougainvillea, directed by Yasir Faiz – Sudan
• White Dwarf, directed by Osaed Mousa Migdadi – Jordan
• Casting, directed by Youssef Sanheji – Tunisia
• Sin, directed by Hasan Migdadi – Jordan
• Mango, directed by Randa Ali – Egypt
• A Passing Day, directed by Rasha Shahin – Egypt – Syria
• Embrace of the Unknown, directed by Ghalia Khaled Haddad – Jordan
• Outside Looking In, directed by Tara Alkhas – Jordan
• Those Who Never Left, directed by Pierre Mouzannar – Lebanon
• Loop, directed by Eslam Qotb – Egypt
• Rouge, directed by Samaher Mously – Saudi Arabia
• Your Excellency, directed by Musaed Alqudifi – Kuwait
• Nobody, directed by Msallam Hdaib – Jordan
• Does It Hurt Too Bad to Look at Me?  directed by Rana Wael Matar –Saudi Arabia
• Behind the Curtain’s Edge, directed by Kacem Skalli – Morocco
• Talisman, directed by Karar Hayder Abed – Iraq

Non-Arab Films: (First-Time Feature Director)

• Happyend, directed by Neo Sora – Japan
• Armand, directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel – Norway
• Dog on Trial, directed by Laetitia Dosch – Switzerland
• Aisha’s Story, directed by Elizabeth Vibert & Chen Wang– Canada
• All We Imagine as Light, directed by Payal Kapadia – India
• Familiar Touch, directed by Sarah Friedland – USA
• Tales from the Magic Garden, directed by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec – Czech Republic, Slovakia & France

Two non-competitive sections are added this year, with films not eligible to compete, but yet greatly enrich its program.  
Out-of-Competition:

• Under My Mother’s Roof, directed by Christian Abi Abboud – Lebanon
• UNRWA, 75 years of a Provisory History, directed by Nicolas Wadimoff & Lyana Saleh – Switzerland
• Yalla Parkour, directed by Areeb Zuaiter – Jordan, Palestine
• The Mission, directed by two medical personnel from Gaza – Palestine
• The Clown From Gaza, directed by Abdulrahman Sabah – Palestine
• Very Small Dreams (From Ground Zero +), directed by I’timad Wishah – Palestine
• Hassan (From Ground Zero +), directed by Mohammad Al-Sharif – Palestine
• The Wish (From Ground Zero +), directed by Aws Al-Banna – Palestine
• Colors Under the Sky (From Ground Zero +), directed by Reema Mahmoud – Palestine
• Upshot, directed Maha Haj – Palestine
• I Found My Love in Masarra, directed by Stephanie Amin – Egypt
• The Chant, directed by May Al Ghouti – Jordan
• The Play at 8, directed by Mohammad Hushki – Jordan

Spotlight on Irish Cinema:
Ireland being the Country of Honour this year, a special program will be dedicated to its cinema with details to be unveiled shortly.  

The Festival is made possible with the support of long-standing partners, among which: Jordan Tourism Board, The Royal Film Commission – Jordan, Abdali Investment and Development, Zain Jordan, Royal Jordanian, Edgo, Ghiath & Nadia Sukhtian Foundation, Greater Amman Municipality, HUE, TAJ Cinemas, Olivewood Studios, Institut Français – Jordan.

For all information visit our website www.aiff.jo or email us at: info@aiff.jo or call us at +962792222011.