AMMAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL REVEALS JURIES AND AWARDS FOR ITS 4TH EDITION

Amman, 26 July 2023 – Taking place 15 – 22 August, the fourth edition of the Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF), Jordan’s thriving international film festival highlighting regional and international début works, announces the jurors for its different sections. They will be selecting the winners of the Black Iris Award in the three competitive categories: Best Arab Feature Narrative, Best Arab Feature Documentary and Best Arab Short Film, in addition to the newly introduced FIPRESCI prize for the documentary section. 

The Jury for the Arab Feature Narrative Films includes: 

Andres Vicente Gomez, one of Spain’s most prolific and Europe’s most highly regarded producers, winner of an Oscar for Belle Époque (1992). 

Eyad Nassar, a highly acclaimed and versatile Jordanian actor, renowned for his captivating performances in film and television, his notable films include Fork & Knife, Blue Elephant 2, Casablanca and Perfect Strangers (Arabic Version) 

Bushra Rozza, a multi-faceted Egyptian artist known for her roles as an actress, singer, television host and producer earning recognition for her role in the movie 678 and producing movies such as Asmaa. 

Raja Amari, an acclaimed film director from Tunisia whose first feature film Satin Rouge (2002), premiered at Berlin International Film Festival and won numerous awards. Her second film Buried Secrets was presented in the Official Selection of the 66th Venice Film Festival. 

The Jury for the Arab Feature Documentary Films includes: 

Monika Borgmann, a German-Lebanese producer and director. In 2001, Borgmann co-founded UMAM Productions with Lokman Slim, focusing on documentary filmmaking. Together, they directed the acclaimed documentary Massaker (2005) and “Tadmor” (2016). 

Eyad Hamam, a Jordanian editor who worked on several award-winning documentaries, as well as Jordanian films and series including the Netflix series Al Rawabi School for Girls and the feature film The Alleys. 

Nezar Andary, a Lebanese filmmaker, scholar and film curator. His award-winning film, Unlocking Doors of Cinema (2020) was screened in over 20 festivals. 

The Jury for the FIPRESCI Prize:

The Arab feature length documentaries also compete this year for the FIPRESCI Prize (International Film Critics Awards to promote film-art and to encourage new and young cinema). 

The jury consists of the following: 

Henda Haouala is an academic, author and film critic. She is a lecturer in Audiovisual Techniques and Cinema at Manouba University in Tunisia. Haouala is a Doctor in Science and Techniques of the Arts. She is the author of several published books related to cinema.

Schayan Riaz, a journalist from Berlin, who is currently the Project Director of the Center for International Cultural Education at the Goethe-Institut in Hamburg. He participated as a FIPRESCI jury member in Berlinale 2020, Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH) 2020. 

Mohamed Tarek, an Egyptian film critic, festival programmer and arts manager based between Cairo and Dublin. 

The Jury for the Arab Short Films includes: 

Afef Ben Mahmoud, a Tunisian actress, director and producer, she held lead roles under major Tunisian directors, including Nouri Bouzid’s Making Of and lately in Streams by Mehdi Hmili, for which she received the Best Actress Award at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2021, then at ‘Vues d’Afrique’ and at ‘Pluriel.les’ in 2023. 

Darin J. Sallam, an award-winning Jordanian writer and director; her critically- acclaimed debut feature film Farha (2021) had its world premiere at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival, won 12 awards to date from international film festivals and was nominated by Jordan for the Academy Awards (2022). 

Yumna Marwan, played her first major role in the feature film The Valley by writer-director Ghassan Salhab in 2013. Since then, she has taken up roles with directors from all over the Arab world. Her first English-speaking main role was for Sky Atlantic’s Little Birds mini-series. 

The winners of each section will be announced at the AIFF’s Closing Ceremony on the 22nd August 2023. They will receive a bronze-made Black Iris trophy, designed by the late Jordanian artist Mohanna Durra, a pioneer of the Jordanian Arts movement, in addition to the following monetary awards: 

• The Black Iris for Best Arab Feature-Length Narrative (15,000 USD) 

• Jury Award – Arab Feature-Length Narrative (5,000 USD) 

• The Black Iris for Best Arab Feature-Length Documentary (10,000 USD) 

• Jury Award – Arab Feature-Length Documentary (5,000 USD) 

• The Black Iris for Best Arab Short Film (4,000 USD) 

• Jury Award – Arab Short Film (1,000 USD) 

• The Black Iris for Best International Film (5,000 USD) 

The jurors may also decide to grant a Special Mention to: 

• First-time Lead Actor (Arab Feature-Length Narrative Competition) 

• First-time Lead Actress (Arab Feature-Length Narrative Competition) 

• First-time Scriptwriter (Arab Feature-Length Narrative Competition) 

• First-time Editor (Arab Feature-Length Documentary Competition) 

It’s worth mentioning that The Black Iris for Best International Film is awarded by the audience through a voting system. 

Tickets can be purchased online on:  www.aiff.jo and at two selling points at the Film Library of The Royal Film Commission – Jordan and in TAJ Cinemas, as of 6 August 2023, at reasonable prices accessible to the public. The screenings will take place at: Taj Cinemas, The Royal Film Commission, Rainbow Theater and the Drive-in Theater in Abdali.

---

The Festival is made possible with the support of long-standing partners: Jordan Tourism Board, The Royal Film Commission – Jordan, Abdali Investment and Development, Zain Jordan, Royal Jordanian, Edgo , Ghiath & Nadia Sukhtian Foundation, Jordan Kuwait Bank, Capital Bank, Greater Amman Municipality, HUE Innovation & Design, Al-Markazia – Lexus, TAJ Cinemas.

For all information visit our website www.aiff.jo or call +962792222011.
For inquiries about Arab and International competitions email us at info@aiff.jo.
For questions on the Amman Film Industry Days email us at afid@aiff.jo.