JORDAN'S FEATURE FILM, WHODUNNIT IT FIRST AND LAST?

By Suha Ali

Here we go again, trying to resolve the nagging question of who made the first and last Jordanian dramatic feature films.

The absurd quarrel over the title of First Jordanian Fiction Feature Film has reached a feverish pitch.

Back in November of 2007, a leading Jordanian film critic settled this confusion with an article proclaiming the film Struggle in Jarash (1957) as the First Jordanian film. But it seems that never resolved the argument over the title of the "First Jordanian Fiction Feature Film Since The Last Jordanian Feature Film."

There are also variations and spin offs of the title such as "First Independent Jordanian Fiction Feature Film" and "First Truly Jordanian Fiction Feature Film" and we even heard rumors of someone planning to make the "First Jordanian Fiction Feature Film Showing a BMW M6 Convertible."

After consulting with a number of Jordanian film critics and historians, we have identified the last known three Jordanian feature fiction films (can you say that three times in a row) in the order of their debut and first known screening:

Film: Oriental Tales (1991 - 16 mm - Color - 105 min)
Synopsis: In an unspecified Arab country, Mustapha, a newspaper
journalist, is tortured by a sense of failure. History and reality
harrowingly compete within himself in his search for identity.
Director: Najdat Anzour (who was given an honorary Jordanian citizenship by the late King Hussain)
Script: Adnan Mdanat, Jamil Awad
Camera: Hisham El-Abdellat Mont. Mohamed Alo El-Maleh
Cast: Mohamed Kabbani, Juliette Awad, Hisham Hneidi, Zouhair Hassan
Link: http://www.3continents.com/3continents/fiche_films.jsp?filmid=149

Film: The Mission (2007 - BetaSP - Color - 90 min)
Synopsis: Evil-doers plot to terrorize innocents in Jordan but law
enforcement thwarts their plot.
Director: Hammad Zoubi
Producer/Script: Akram Aburragheb
Cast: Haifa Agha, Hassan Abu Shaqra, Muhammad Samhaan, Dawood Jalajel,
Rifat Najjar, Baker Qabbani, Abdulkarim Qawasmi.
Link: http://www.aljazeeratalk.net/forum/showthread.php?p=784181
First Projection Date: October 10, 2007 at the King Hussein Cultural
Center in Amman, Jordan.

Film: Captain Abu Raed (2007 - HD - Color - 110 min)
Synopsis: An under privileged boy finds his dream through stories told
to him by an old man who is mistaken for a pilot
Director/Writer: Amin Matalqa
Producer: David Pritchard
Cast: Nadim Sawalha, Hussine Al-Souse, Udey Al-Qadise, Rana Sultan,
Ali Maher, Lina Tell, Dina Raad-Yaghnam, Ayat Najah Abd Al-Sadeq
Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1017428
First Projection Date: December 9, 2007 at the Dubai Film Festival, UAE

Obviously, it's a tie.

And the title of the "First Jordanian Feature Film Since 1991" will be shared by both The Mission and Captain Abu Raed.

We are planning to lobby the Jordanian government to enact a law that bans the use of the title "The First Jordanian Feature Film." If that fails, out of fairness, we should consider offering an annual award for "The First Jordanian Feature Film of the Year."

And the saga continues...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Suha Ali is a regular contributor and translator who volunteers her time and work for the Amman Fillmmakers Cooperative.

RELATED LINKS

Defending Our Pioneers: Struggle in Jarash Is The First Jordanian Film
http://ammanfilmmakers.alif.com/nov-25-07-struggle-in-jarash-first.htm

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http://JordanianFilms.com