The film features burgeoning young Jordanian actor Mohamed Nizar, who is represented by MAD Rising Celebrity.
Jordanian filmmaker Faris Alrjoob’s The Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry, one of the two Jordanian films ever selected for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, won the Silver Star for Short Films at the El Gouna Film Festival‘s sixth edition. The film, which had its world premiere at Cannes’ Quinzaine des Cinéastes Section, continued to captivate audiences during its Arab World premiere at the El Gouna Film Festival’s closing ceremony.
The romantic thriller unfolds the haunting journey of Ida, portrayed by emerging Jordanian actor Mohamed Nizar, as she embarks on a quest to the enigmatic location where her partner disappeared. The narrative delicately explores Ida’s desperate desire to feel his presence one last time and bid a poignant farewell.
Featuring German actress Clara Schwinning, Emmy-nominated American-Palestinian-Kuwaiti journalist-actor Ahmed Shihab Eldin, and Anwar Khalil, The Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry was produced by German film school Film-und Medienstiftung NRW.
Directed, written, and co-produced by Faris Alrjoob, with co-writing credits to Matthew LaPaglia, the short film boasts cinematography by Mahmoud Belakhel, editing by Benedikt Strick, and worldwide distribution handled by MAD Solutions.
Faris Alrjoob, an interdisciplinary artist based in Berlin and a graduate student at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, has cemented his presence in the film industry. Beyond The Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry, Alrjoob previously directed The Ghosts We Left at Home in 2020, which premiered at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in Germany and gained recognition at esteemed festivals such as the Malmö Arab Film Festival, the Red Sea International Film Festival, and the Internationales Frauenfilmfestival.
