Curtains go up on 9th Arab Film Festival in Amman

AMMAN — The ninth edition of the Arab Film Festival kicked off in Amman on Sunday and will feature two film screenings every night until Thursday.

The festival is organised by the Royal Film Commission under the patronage of Minister of Culture Mohammad Abu Rumman. Films will be screened with English subtitles. Entrance is free of charge, according to the organisers.

Films from around the Arab world are played daily at 6pm at the Rainbow Theatre and at 9pm at the Royal Film commission.

The film festival opened with a screening of 1992 Palestinian film “Screwdriver”, which was followed by a discussion session with director Bassam Jarbawi.

Set in Amari refugee camp, located east of Ramallah, it centers on the friendship of Ziad and Ramzi, according to the festival organisers. After 15 years in an Israeli prison, Ziad faces difficulties while trying to return to normal life and is haunted by his memories.

The film received the Best Film Award at the Bosphorus Film Festival and Best Film at Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival, according to the Arab Film Festival website.

Upcoming films include “Erased, Ascent of the Invisible” from Lebanon, “10 Days Before The Wedding” from Yemen, and “Catharsys or The Afina Tales of The Lost World” from Morocco.

The festival will conclude with a screening of the Lebanese drama “Still Burning” followed by a discussion with director Georges Hachem. The movie is about André, a Lebanese filmmaker, who lives and works in France and unexpectedly meets Walid, a very close friend he has not seen for years and with whom he shares the same artistic vocation during the civil war as well as love for the same woman.

The movie has been nominated for Best Lebanese Motion Picture, Best Lebanese Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Design in a Lebanese Motion Picture at The Lebanese Movie Awards, according to the organisers.

The Royal Film Commission was founded in 2003 with the vision to “build in Jordan a world-class, cutting-edge film industry where all people of the Middle East can freely make films alongside the world’s most talented artists”, according to its website.