‘3000 Nights’ adds one more trophy to growing award haul

AMMAN — Director Mai Masri’s film “3000 Nights” has won the Film Engagé Award at the Mauret Film Festival in France, the country that previously witnessed the film’s six-award win, the feature’s distributor said on Monday. 

The film is Jordan’s official submission to the 2017 Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category and is now Palestine’s official submission for the Golden Globe Awards, which will be announced next January.

The film, written and directed by Masri, is currently being screened in Tunisian and Emirati cinemas, distributor MAD Solutions said in a statement.

Masri’s film, inspired by a true story and shot in a real prison in Jordan, follows a newly-wed Palestinian schoolteacher who is wrongfully imprisoned in an Israeli jail, where she gives birth to a son.

Through her struggle to raise her child behind bars, the film traces a young mother’s journey of hope, resilience and survival against all odds.

The 103-minute feature — a co-production between Jordan, Palestine, France, the UAE, Qatar and Lebanon — has received funding from several sources, including the Royal Film Commission’s Jordan Film Fund.

Masri was born in Amman of a Palestinian father and an American mother.

She grew up in Beirut and studied film at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University.

The filmmaker has directed and produced several documentaries that have won over 60 international awards, including the Trailblazer Award at Cannes Mipdoc Film Festival in 2007, the Luchino Visconti Award in Italy (2003) and the Asia-Pacific Screen Award in Australia (2007).

In an interview with The Jordan Times published in October, Masri voiced hope that Jordan’s submission of “3000 Nights” to the Foreign Language Film category in the 89th Academy Awards will draw attention to the plight of Palestinian prisoners.

The publicity the feature film has received so far has brought media and public attention to the plight of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, particularly the suffering of female prisoners, Masri said.

“The film is first and foremost a human story with a universal theme that resonates with international audiences. It carries a message of hope and justice and the triumph of the human spirit,” she said.

Jordan has already established itself internationally as a producer of high quality, independent films, she added, noting that even if “3000 Nights” did not reach the final selection, Jordanians had already proven their talent.

“What is needed now is to encourage local funding and support networks so we can continue making quality films,” Masri said.

“3000 Nights” has won over 18 international awards, including the Bronze Tanit within the Feature Film Competition and the Screenplay Prize for a Feature Film within the Official Competition at the 27th Carthage Film Festival. 

It has also nabbed awards in Italy, Switzerland, the US, Spain, Sweden and Algeria.

The film stars Maisa Abdelhadi, Nadera Omran, Raida Adon, Rakeen Saad, Abeer Haddad, Anahid Fayad, Haifa Al Agha, Khitam Edelbi and Hana Chamoun.