BIT BY BYTE, JORDAN'S INDEPENDENT CINEMA EVOLVES

By Hazim Bitar

Now you see it now you don't. Such is the state of Jordanian cinema since
its inception back in 1950s when the film "Struggle in Jarash" was released
to the handful of Jordanian theaters and was met with reasonable success.

Folktales abound of the overwhelming difficulties that members of the
production team had to endure and the limited means by which they had to
cope. These tales form the mythology of the trials and tribulations of
Jordan's independent cinema.

Jordanian film critic and historian, Najeh Hasan, in a recent study, pointed
to a cyclical pattern whereby Jordanian cinema moves to the forefront only
to descend into a state of hibernation.

When asked about the cause of this lack of sustained presence, pundits
offer a wide range of theories such as the limited official support, brain
drain, limited career opportunities, lack of capable educational
institutions, poor private sector support, limited base of capable screen
actors and scriptwriters, and a host of other challenges often encountered
in many third world countries.

GIVE ME DIGITAL VIDEO OR GIVE ME DEATH

The recent digital filmmaking movement has arrived to Jordan, possibly to
stay and change the landscape of independent cinema.

The tools for digital filmmaking are falling within reach of many
middleclass Jordanians, and the democratization of filmmaking in the Arab
world is now a reality.

The ease by which digital films can be produced and distributed has rendered
government censorship and controls all but obsolete. The monopoly of
institutional video production houses has also been broken.

With a compact DV camcorder, personal computer and video editing software, a
CD burner, and an internet connection, films can be made in Jordan and
screened in any part of the world.

The explosion of Arabic satellites and regional film festivals meant more
opportunities for independent Arab filmmakers to distribute their films.

Still, the legal code governing film production and distribution in many
developing countries do not differentiate between institutional filmmaking
and personal filmmaking. Such laws are still unduly strict and outdated,
with punishments ranging from thousands of dollars in fines all the way to
imprisonment, Jordan not withstanding.

These edicts hang over the heads of independent filmmakers, waiting to fall
whenever a director or scriptwriter crosses an imaginary line of official
tolerance, a line no one knows where it starts or ends. Yet for most
Jordanian filmmakers, this risk has been worth taking.

THE WESTERN FACTOR

Cultural trends which start in Europe are often mirrored, over time, in the
developing world. The recognition of video as an acceptable medium to cut
film was a turning point in Europe and, recently, in the Arab world.

The impact of this shift was more pronounced in the developing world where
the cost of celluloid is prohibitive to the point of keeping it out of reach
for most aspiring filmmakers and institutions supporting film production.

With the expanding definition of cinema and film to include video, it's no
longer a rite of passage to have to expose celluloid to be called a
filmmaker. Today, 120 minutes of video can be legitimately called a feature
film.

THINK GLOBALLY, PRODUCE LOCALLY

Over the course of the last two years, Jordan's cinema intelligentsia had to
undergo a transformation, sometimes reluctantly, to embrace the new more
inclusive definition of cinema to include video and short films. This
change was dictated by the respectable showing, at regional film festivals,
by the first generation of Jordanian independent filmmakers.

The acceptance of Jordanian shorts in high-profile festivals such as
Carthage Film Festival, Dubai Film Festival, Ismailyah Film Festival, Beirut
Film Festival, and so on, helped many ambivalent onlookers in Jordan to
embrace the new generation of films.

Today, the short Jordanian film is accorded the recognition it deserves,
considering the severe limits in production resources; where before, only an
hour and a half worth of projected content would qualify the author for the
title of filmmakers and director.

Governmental and non-governmental entities supporting Jordanian cinema are
continuing to sprout.

The Royal Film Commission is tasked with promoting Jordan as a viable
location for filming.

The Amman Filmmakers Cooperative, a volunteer cultural initiative, which
mentors young filmmaking talents has, in less than two years, put Jordan on
the regional independent cinema map, with its young filmmakers claiming 70%
of Jordan's film festival credentials.

Jordan's Cinema Club, also a not-for-profit initiative led by Jordan's
leading film critic Adnan Madanat, offers cinema education via screening of
independent films not typically released in Jordan's dozen commercial
theaters. Books@Cafe, Darat al Funun and Makan House, all cultural centers, have also
been active in holding screenings of independent films.

These efforts might seem very modest when compared to, lets say, Sweden's
cinema culture, but considering the near absence of independent cinema in
Jordan a couple of years ago, both on the production and consumption sides
of the equation, this is a respectable start.

JACK, FACE THE CHANGES

The newfound respect for independent filmmaking in Jordan and the high
induced by the film festival experience have hooked many first-time
filmmakers to the point of changing careers or pursuing advanced studies in
filmmaking or multimedia, letting go in the process of better paying jobs
for the promise of making a film that will show off their creative talents
to a global audience and to tell stories they have always dreamt of telling
using the language of cinema.

All of the above factors are accelerating the growth of independent
Jordanian cinema. In a year or so, we expect long-form and feature-length
films to make a respectable presence regionally and internationally, if the
current trend continues.

There are many reasons to believe this creative energy will persist, unlike
Jordan's past cycles of growth and slumber.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Hazim Bitar is founder and coordinator of the
Amman Filmmakers Cooperative. For more information about the
Cooperative visit http://AmmanFilmmakers.alif.com

Author can be contacted at: AmmanFilmmakers@alif.com

(c) 2005 By Hazim Bitar.

http:/AmmanFilmmakers.alif.com