Opening Night of the Amman International Film Festival: A Celebration of Cinema
July 2, 2025
Amman Int. Film Festival Navigates an Unscripted World
July 6, 2025
Lina Soualem’s Spain-set family tale “Alicante,” “Asphalt,” the big winner at this year’s Cannes Docs-in-Progress, and “Printemps,” from Berlin laureates Noel and Michelle Keserwany, look like potential standouts at this year’s Amman Intl. Film Festival’s Pitching Platforms.
The rich lineup underscores the vast range of output and depth of talent from emerging filmmakers in the Arab world.
Although the Pitching Sessions showcase first feature or first fiction feature filmmakers, they are not necessarily unknown. Soualem, for instance, attracted heat with 2023 Venice and Toronto title “Bye Bye Tiberias,” about her mother Hiam Abbas. The Keserwany sisters won the Berlinale best short Golden Bear in 2023 for “Les Chenilles.” Attached to direct “The Orange Grove,” one of the Platform’s biggest entries, Amman-born Murad Abu Eishe won a Student Oscar.
Likewise, title producers take in established players of note.
“The Orange Grove” is backed by Canada’s Max Films, a producer on Jane Campion’s “The Power Of The Dog,” and Jordan’s The Imaginarium Films, behind “Inshallah a Boy,” Jordan’s first-ever film selected for Cannes.
“The Last Mayor of Jerusalem” is co-produced by Brian Hill’s prestigious Century Films (“Falling Apart,” “The Secret History of our Streets”). “The Cow Thief” co-producer Fig Leaf Studios was behind Cannes 2020 Palme d’Or winner “I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face.” “Six 2 One” (a working title) is backed by Ghassan Salti’s FilmCrew Production Services, a line producer on dozens of international shoots in Jordan.
Unspooling July 5 (projects in development) and July 6 (pix in post), the Pitching Platforms form part of the Amman Film Industry Days (AFID). Projects compete for awards in cash and in kind. This year’s jury is made up of Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, Joseph Bitamba, a filmmaker from Burundi, Spanish film programmer and critic Eduardo Guillot, Jordanian producer Linda Mutawi and Saudi director Abdulaziz Al-Shlahei.
“Although modest, the awards given are part of the much-needed local funding; one which ensures that the stories genuinely reflect the voices and experiences of the community without constraints or pressures,” notes Amman Intl. Film Festival director ad co-founder Nada Doumani.
“We believe in the necessity of supporting these voices, as part of our identity and of our creative economy. It is crucial that Jordanian and Arab filmmakers have access to the resources and the support in their own region first, to be anchored in it in order to reach the world later,” she adds.
Above all, Pitching Platforms titles bear testimony to the range, depth of talent and nuance which Jordan and the Arab world itself can bring to understanding of life lived in the region, the origins and consequences of the Israel-Palestine conflict and other burning issues which resonate dramatically around the world.
Not all narratives are dark. A turn-up for the books after Anas Khalaf’s “dark, very hopeless” – his words – “The Translator,” “Love-45,” surely one of the Platforms’ most commercial propositions, weighs in as an Arab-country-set romantic drama, turns on tennis and has a happy ending, producer Marine Vaillant notes.
The spirit of many films at AFID is caught by the intentions of “Asphalt.” “Unlike typical conflict narratives, ‘Asphalt’ exposes the quiet tragedies of displacement: dreams deferred by tradition, politics, and pure bad luck. A shepherd’s fight for normalcy becomes a universal tale of hope chipped away,” writer-producer Mahmoud Massad tells Variety.
“This year’s selection reflects a strong shift toward introspective, character-driven stories that navigate identity, memory, and survival. Many projects explore a second coming-of-age, where characters must reimagine home and self in the face of loss, displacement, or societal pressure,” observes Bassam Alasad, the Amman Film Festival’s head of industry.
“A recurring theme is the tension between memory and its absence and how remembering can both heal and haunt, and how forgetting can become both a refuge and an erasure,” Alasad adds.
“Filmmakers are also turning to magical realism and grounded fantasy to express inner worlds and suppressed histories, giving emotional texture to stories rooted in reality. Altogether, these works challenge reductive narratives and assert the complexity of Arab experiences, asking not just who we are, but what we choose to remember, and how we move forward,” he concludes.
And the Pitching Platform Titles:
Development Projects – Awal Film (first feature films from Jordanians or residents in Jordan)
“From Temporary to Semi-Permanent,” (Bayan Abuta’ema, Jordan)
Also produced by Abuta’ema, an observational documentary exploring life in Palestinian refugee camps across Jordan. “As a filmmaker born into a life defined by ‘temporary’ status, this film is a personal exploration of what it means to exist in a state of uncertainty. It uses a poetic visual style that highlights silence, space, and texture to capture the subtle emotions of waiting and displacement,” she tells Variety.
“The Last Mayor of Jerusalem,” (Kinda Kurdi, Jordan, U.K. Produced by Kurdi, Brian Hill)
“1948 and intensive Israeli attacks have failed to capture East Jerusalem….Underpinned by a never-before-seen videoed memoir from the city’s last Palestinian mayor, this is an inspiring story of resistance, revival and hope,” the short synopsis runs. “A look back at a political decision that still lies at the heart of the Israeli Palestinian conflict,” adds Hill. Co-produced by Kurdi’s London-based K² Visual Media and winner of a best pitch award at Fipa DOC from the Docs Up fund.
“Six 2 One,” (Tamir Naber, Jordan. Produced by Ghassan Salti)
Directed by Naber, a Jordan shoot AD on “Rogue One,” “Aladdin” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and co-creator of milestone TV comedy “Bath Bayakha.” Inspired by the 1987 attack on an Israeli military camp in occupied northern Palestine in which Syrian-born Khaldoun killed six Israeli soldiers before dying. The First Intifada broke out a month later. The film “seeks to redefine resistance — not as violence, but as dignity, ethics and the courage to be seen,” Salti notes.
“The Orange Grove,” (Murad Abu Eishe, Canada, Jordan. Produced by Rula Nasser, Veronika Molnar, Roger Frapper )
The feature adapts Larry Tremblay’s 2013 novel, about an actor in NYC thrust into the lead role of Hecuba – a play about revenge. Haunted by a lost brother and a stolen identity, he’s forced to confront his past in Palestine. Amman-born Eishe’s “Tala’vision” won not only a Student Oscar but best short at the Red Sea Festival.
Development Projects – Arab Projects
“Alicante,” (Lina Soualem, France. Produced by Omar El Kadi)
After break-up, Assia seeks downtime with her family which has just opened a restaurant in Spain. She’s soon battling to save the family business. A sense of identity drama from one of the region’s highest-profile first fiction feature filmmakers backed by Omar El Kadi and Nadia Turencev at go-ahead French outfit Easy Riders Films.
“The Cow Thief,” (Mohamed Zedan, Egypt, Italy, KSA. Produced by Mark Lofty)
An investigative doc exploring the disappearance of the screenplay to this film, then banned at the time in Egypt – a project which, Zedan argues, inspired “Bicycle Thieves.” The films also plumbs the untimely death of its director Kamal Selim at the age of just 34, one of Egypt’s greatest directors. “Through archives and memory, it traces how censorship and colonial power silenced artists — and how, even decades later, cinema can reclaim what was nearly forgotten,” says Zedan.
“Like a Bird in the Sky,” (Amal Ramsis, Lebanon, Egypt, Spain. Produced by Ramsis, Jana Wehbe)
Produced by Lebanon-based The Attic and director Ramsis’ Klaketa Árabe. Set on “the lively rooftops of Cairo, three fearless Egyptian girls conquer the male-dominated realm of pigeon racing,” says Ramsis (“You Come From Far Away”). “In the sky, a mesmerising dream sequence unfolds, revealing the exhilarating highs and treacherous pitfalls that await them,” she adds.
“Love-45,” (Anas Khalaf, France, Switzerland, U.K., Syria, Qatar. Produced by Marine Vaillant)
A rocket attack killed Walid’s parents and dreams of becoming a professional tennis player. Overweight, he meets a French humanitarian worker and young Syrian refugee who inspire him to heal and rediscover his passion for life. “It’s the first film from the Middle-East about tennis and a radical proposition for an Arab film in years : It has a happy ending,” says Vaillant.
“The Masters of Magic and Beauty,” (Jad Chahine, Egypt Produced by Baho Bakhsh, Safei Eldin Mahmoud)
When a women, yearning to be a mother, performs a magical ritual, she and her family are thrust into a world of prophecies, jealousy, and magic. An ambitious family fantasy tale produced by Egypt’s Red Star Films and Film Square Production, and directed by Chahine, a Cannes 2023 La Cinef contender.
“Ping Pong,” (Saleh Saadi, Palestine. Produced by May Jabareen)
The feature debut of Saleh Saadi, whose “Borekas,” competed for best LGBTQ+ short at the 2021 Palm Springs ShortFest festival. His second short film, “A’lam” (2022) – which he wrote, directed and acted in – bowed at the 2022 Hollyshorts Film Festival. Produced by Jabareen at Palestine and Jordan-based Philistine Films.
“Printemps,” (Noel Keserwany, Lebanon, France)
When a rom-com TV crew takes shelter in her fake luxury perfume shop in Lebanon’s Jounieh, Soha seizes the opportunity, soon finding herself in a world where the line between ambition and integrity begins to blur. Set up at Barr, the Lebanon-based production company founded in 2023 by sisters Angèle, Michelle, and Noel Keserwany. On “Printemps,” Noel directs, Michelle produces.
“The Sad Life of Happy Pig,” (Christy Whaibe, produced by Christelle Younes, Lebanon, France)
Whaibe’s feature film debut. On the brink of leaving Lebanon and his Happy Pig costume for good, Chady’s plans are thrown off course by an unexpected encounter. The film “captures the absurdity, resilience, and coping mechanisms of Lebanese society through the story of Chady — a character who embodies the struggles and spirit of successive generations,” says Younes, at Lebanon’s Btrswt Pictures.
Post-Production Projects – Arab Projects
“All That the Wind Can Carry,” (Maged Nader, Egypt. Produced by Tamer Elsaid, Nader)
Susana’s mind cannot comprehend her grandson’s presence, while in her consciousness the image of the present is mixed with fragments of pictures, home tapes, dreams and hallucinations related to her memory of the incident where she lost her daughter. A doc-feature take on memory loss and dementia by director-DP Nader.
“Amal,” (Khaled Ahmad Al Swidan, Jordan, Syria. Produced by Rahmeh Al-Shammas)
Amal’s groom quits after discovering her past. Her sister, Baraa, who fled Zaatari camp, tries to reclaim her son. Amal meets Abdullah from Azraq camp and, under family pressure and fear of her ex-husband, marries him. Baraa joins a new shaky marriage, ending alone and traumatized as her family returns to Syria. A multi-prized study of the legacy of child marriage from Jordan-based writer-director Khaled Ahmad Al Swidan and producer: Rahmeh Al-Shammas.
“Asphalt,” (Hamza Hamideh, Jordan. Produced by Mahmoud Massad)
Debis, a 20-year-old Palestinian refugee born in Jordan’s Baqa’a camp, struggles to save for marriage while navigating the challenges of loss and the devastating impact of escalating war in Gaza. Directed by Hamideh and written by multi-prized Jordanian-Dutch writer-director-producer Mahmoud Massad, a winner at Sundance (“Recycle”) and Dubai (“This Is My Picture When I Was Dead”).
“Kobra,” (Daniel Habib, Lebanon. Produced by Sarah Saab)
Consumed by revenge, Kobra will stop at nothing till she takes down Beirut’s crime king Atme. “‘Kobra’ is a love letter to the films I grew up on – Tarantino, Chan-wook, Scorsese and Mann. These legends tell the stories they believe in, unbound by genre or arthouse rules, driven purely by passion,” says Habib, an experienced writer (“Beirut, I Love You”) and director (short “It Gets Darker”). Set up at Lebanon’s Nightmare Curator Productions, founded by Habib and Saab.
“Testosterone,” (Directed and produced by Ali Benchekroune, Mohamed Bakrim, Morocco. )
Indebted to ruthless Walid, fitness coach Karim leans on his crypto scammer pal Sami, until the arrival of unhinged nephew Anas prompts “a riotous showdown of toxic masculinity and mayhem.” The feature debut of AD Benchekroune and Bakrim, a “film d’auteur fuelled with adrenaline” turning on “‘roujoula’ (toxic masculinity) with sharp humor, a high-octane and unfiltered approach,” Benchekroune tells Variety.
“You Don’t Die Two Times,” (Ager Ouselati, France, Tunisia, Algeria, Germany. Produced by Raouf Oueslati, Thomas Kaske, Dhia Jerbi)
Lead produced by Tunis and Marseille based Mufa Films, an immigration doc feature which won a 2024 Cairo Film Connection Jury Prize for best post-production project. The film “grants us access to the intimate life of Gift, a woman in migration. With deep humanity and poetic honesty, the film resists tropes and gives space to complexity and dignity,” says producer Dia Jherbi.
