The inaugural edition is due to take place from August 23 to 31 in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
The inaugural edition of Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF), Jordan’s first international film festival, has announced the jurors for its different sections, who will be selecting the winners of the Black Iris Award in the three competitive categories: Best Arab Feature-Length Narrative, Best Arab Feature-Length Documentary and Best Arab Short.
The Arab Feature-Length Narrative Film jury is helmed by the acclaimed Serbian director Srdan Golubović, whose credits include the award-winning The Trap and whose latest film Father premiered to outstanding reviews at this year’s 70th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). Joining Golubović, are the Jordanian star and Producer Saba Mubarak, and Sarim Fassi-Fihri, Executive VP of the Marrakech International Film Festival and CEO of the Moroccan Cinema Centre (CCM).
The Arab Feature-Length Documentary Film jury includes Jordanian filmmaker Mahmoud Al-Massad, director of Blessed Benefit and award-winning Recycle; the Egyptian writer and producer Nadia Kamel; and the German filmmaker and artist Andrea Luka Zimmerman, who will be heading the jury.
Furthermore, the British-Iraqi film director Maysoon Pachachi will lead the Short Film jury to select, alongside the Jordanian film critic Najeh Hassan and the American filmmaker Brandt Andersen, the Best Arab Short Narrative.
The winners of each section will be announced at the AIFF’s closing ceremony on August 31. The winners of the competitive sections will receive cash prize awards –$20,000 for Best Arab Feature Narrative; $15,000 for Best Arab Feature Documentary; $5,000 for Best Arab Short. This comes in addition to the Black Iris bronze trophy, designed by the iconic Jordanian artist Mohanna Durra.
The festival’s audience attending the first drive-in cinema in Jordan, located in the New Abdali area, will be voting to select the winning film of the international film section, which will also receive $5,000.
Moreover, the Amman Film Industry Days (AFID) will have its own jury to award projects selected to AFID’s pitching platforms, in both development and post production categories. The AFID’s jury is headed by the Lebanese documentary film director Hady Zaccak.
Zaccak will be joined by the Tunisian producer Lina Chaabane Menzli whose previous production credits include award-winning films Hedi and Weldi, the Egyptian-French filmmaker and visual artist Jihan El Tahri, General Director of the Berlin-based documentary institution Dox Box, and Mohannad Al Bakri, MD of the Royal Film Commission – Jordan.
The AFID’s award announcement will take place on August 26 at the Royal Film Commission – Jordan.
