Amjad Al-Rasheed's debut feature made history as the country's first-ever film selected for Cannes.
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival screened Jordanian filmmaker Amjad Al Rasheed’s Inshallah a Boy, which was recently crowned with the Gan Foundation and Rail d’ Or awards at the Cannes Film Festival, at the Horizons section.
The film enjoyed three full-house screenings throughout the festival’s runtime with public dignitaries, A-list celebrities, critics, and media figures from foreign media outlets flocking to see it, showering it with immediate widespread acclaim and giving it a standing ovation.
The film follows the recently widowed Nawal, who has to save her daughter and home following her husband’s death in a society where having a son is a game changer.
Inshallah a Boy kicked off its journey as a project, joining several international workshops, including the 79th Venice International Film Festival’s Final Cut, where it nabbed a La Biennale di Venezia Prize and a cash award. Moreover, it received two cash awards from the El Gouna Film Festival and Festival International de Films de Fribourg.
It also received production and post-production support from Jordan’s Royal Film Commission in two cycles, a monetary prize from the Arab Radio and Television Network at the fifth Cairo Film Connection, production support from the Doha Film Institute, and a post-production award from the Atlas Workshop.
Directed by Al-Rasheed and co-written alongside Delphine Agut and Rula Nasser, the film stars Mouna Hawa, Haitham Omari, Salwa Nakkara, Yumna Marwan, Mohammad Al-Jizawi, Islam Al-Awadi, and Celina Rabab’a.
The film was produced by Imaginarium Films and co-produced by Georges Films and Bayt Al-Shawareb. Meanwhile, MAD Solutions and Lagoonie Film Production are in charge of distributing it all over the Arab world and Pyramide International is handling international sales and distribution in France.
The film went on to receive several international awards, including the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the Mizna’s Twin Cities Arab Film Festival in the US and the Malmö Arab Film Festival. The film also held its world premiere at the 2016 Dubai International Film Festival. It is available for streaming on OSN.
