The Winning Films of The Black Iris Awards Announced at the Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film
July 28, 2022
3rd Amman Int’l Film Festival begins today
August 2, 2022
Source: MIME News July 19, 2022
The Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF) has announced the selected projects, which will participate in the pitching platforms of its industry branch, the Amman Film Industry Days (AFID).
Out of 85 applications submitted to three different platforms, a total of 18 projects were selected for the development and post-production categories, participating in this year’s Amman Film Industry Days, the industry arm of the upcoming Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF).
In addition, the AFID will provide a variety of workshops, masterclasses and panels that cover topics about the industry and its impact. Panels will tackle issues of immediate interest to the filmmaking community such as co-productions, environment and storytelling and a series of talks with first-time filmmakers will focus on the challenges they face. A panel will highlight the power of filmmaking in empowering refugees on screen and behind the camera. Four workshops will be conducted by international experts on various specialised topics. One highly anticipated panel will bring together regional famous actors and actresses.
AFID will feature its own jury to award projects selected to participate in the pitching platforms. The AFID’s Jury consists of renowned filmmaker Rashid Masharawi; experienced film producer, Myriam Sassine; cultural consultant, Mohamed Bendjebbour; art historian and curator, Reem Fadda; and the actress Rakeen Saad.
Bassam Alasad, the Head of Amman Film Industry Days, said: “This year, we continue to offer the training and awards in collaboration with partners that believe in supporting the film industry. Personally, and as a filmmaker, I am very happy for the addition of a third pitching platform dedicated to first-time filmmakers, Jordanians or residents in Jordan. These platforms play, even if for a small part, an important role in the journey of the projects, their development, or their completion.”
He also added: “Transferring practical knowledge is the best way of teaching and this method is applied in the design of the AFID programme, where the careful selection of topics and speakers is based on their professional experience and inspiring achievements. We are also grateful for our jury members and the projects’ readers for their time and dedicated efforts.”
The Festival is piloting this year a new tool to support filmmakers: the Amman Film Market, which will be a dedicated space to connect filmmakers with potential funders, partners and distributors, and wil act as a launchpad for projects until they reach their final destination — the audience.
Although the festival kicks off on Wednesday, July 20th and run through July 27th, filmmakers who wish to participate in the Amman Film Industry Days can still apply for the AFID’s Accreditation on the Festival’s website, www.aiff.jo.
Following is a list of the selected projects for the 2022 cycle:
Arab Projects in Development Category
Eight Arab feature-length narrative and documentary projects have been selected and they are:
Theft of Fire, directed by Amer Shomali and produced by Rashid Abdul Hamid (Palestine)
Aysha can’t fly away anymore, directed by Morad Mostafa and produced by Sawsan Yusuf (Egypt)
Sorry to be there! directed by Aissa Djouamaa (Algeria)
Hamlet from the slums, directed by Ahmad Fawzi-Saleh and produced by Ahmad Amer (Egypt)
The Missing Camel, directed by Cheikh N’diaye and produced by Ilham Raouf (Morocco)
The Seasons of Jannet, directed by Mehdi Hmili and produced by Moufida Fedhila (Tunisia)
Breakfast Lunch and Dinner, directed by Mohamed Samir and produced by Marwa Abdalla (Egypt)
50 Metres, directed by Yomna Khattab and produced by Ahmed Amer (Egypt)
Jordanian Projects in Development Category (Awal Project)
Four feature-length narrative and documentary projects by first-time Jordanian directors have been selected and they are:
Detour, directed by Mooney Abu Samra and produced by Yanal Kassay
The 100 hours Trip, directed by Hadeel Lawi
The Lift, directed by Saleh Khtaybeh
The Last Hymn,directed by Karim Ariqat and produced by Naser Jarun
Arab Projects in Post-Production Category
Six feature-length narrative and documentary projects were also selected and they are:
Harvest Moon, directed by Rama Obeid and produced by Mariam Salim (Jordan)
The Evening Tree, directed by Adel Bakri (Tunisia)
A summer in Boujad, directed by Omar Mouldouira and produced by Mohamed Nadif (Morocco)
Swinging fields, directed by Sareen Hairabedian and produced by Azza Hourani (Jordan)
Bye Bye Tiberias, directed by Lina Soualem and produced by Jean-Marie Nizan (Algeria/Palestine)
Training, directed by Yaseen Fanan and produced by Kawthar Tazrouti (Morocco)
The awards will be as follow:
Development Awards:
The Royal Film Commission – Jordan: $5,000 Cash award for an Arab film in development. Hekmat Culture: $5,000 Cash award for a Jordanian Awal Film in development. IEFTA: $5,000 Cash award for a film in Development.Slate: Filming equipment rental for the value of JD$10,000 for a Jordanian film. Greener Screen: Greener Script integration and sustainable best practice consultancy worth US$10,000. Malmo Arab Film Festival: Invitation to attend MAFF Industry Days 2023 for a Jordanian Awal Film in development. Luxor African Film Festival: A seat for a female filmmaker to participate at The Factory 2023. DOX-BOX: Three-day consultancy at DOX GARAGE for a documentary project in development.
Post-Production Awards:
Nation Production: $5,000 cash award for a film in post-production. SAE Institute Amman: post-production facilities for the value of $21,000. Film Lab Palestine: In-kind editing services for a documentary film in post-production worth $15,000S. WISH Audio House: post-production sound services worth US$11,000. Creative Media Solutions: Film branding services for the value of US$10,000. Rum Pictures: Post-Production services worth US$10,000
Market Awards:
ART: $10,000 for a narrative project in development.The Cell: In-kind coloring services for a film in post-production worth $10,000. MAD Solutions: Minimum guarantee in exchange for the distribution and sales rights in the Arab world worth US$10,000.
The announcement of the AFID’s awards will take place on 26 July 2022 at the Royal Film Commission – Jordan.
