Jordan has first film to compete for Oscar
5/9/2008 17:57
Jordan has the first film to compete for an Oscar nomination, local daily
The Jordan Times reported today.
The Royal Film Commission (RFC) has
officially sent the feature film Captain Abu Raed to the Academy of Motion
Pictures Arts and Sciences for an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film
category, said the report.
"We are extremely glad and happy to have, for the
first time, Jordan competing for an Oscar nomination and we hope that Captain
Abu Raed will get a special mention," RFC communications and culture manager
Nada Doumani was quoted as saying.
"This shows that the film industry in
Jordan has matured enough to compete in international festivals, and we hope for
many others to follow," she added.
Written and directed by Amin Matalqa and
produced by Kevin Pritchard, Captain Abu Raed tells the story of a reclusive
airport janitor, played by Nadim Sawalha, who dreams of seeing the world, but
has to make do with books and brief encounters with passengers.
The film has
received the World Cinema Audience Award for a dramatic piece at the Sundance
Film Festival among other awards, as it touches upon themes such as poverty,
child labor and domestic violence through everyday characters.
Oscar
nominations are expected in late January of next year, with the 81st Academy
Awards to be presented in Hollywood, California on Feb. 22, 2009.
Xinhua
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