Jordanian filmmakers win awards in EU fest

Two Jordanian filmmakers, Firas Taybeh and Bashar Hamdan received cash awards in a short film competition organised within the European Union (EU) Film Festival, currently taking place in the Kingdom.

The festival, which has been held in Jordan for the last 18 years, introduced awards for the best Jordanian short film, in cooperation with the European Commission (EC) delegation in Jordan and the Royal Film Commission (RFC).

At a ceremony held in Salt on Sunday, Invisible Face by Taybeh, and Sarcastic Thoughts by Hamdan, bagged the first and second prizes, worth 1,000 and 500 euros each.

Invisible Face tells the story of Khaled, a poor man who repairs watches in front of Al Hussein Mosque in downtown Amman. "I like to take spontaneous shots of anonymous people, those forgotten by society," explained 24-year-old Taybeh, who is currently studying sculpting at the University of Jordan.

27-year-old Hamdan, a Yarmouk University graduate, who currently works for a production society, looks at a day in the life of a journalist in Sarcastic Thoughts.

Both filmmakers expressed concerns about lack of funding. "We need more financial support from public and private organizations to make feature films," Hamdan commented.

Ahmad Bedjaoui, culture and communications programme manager at the EC Delegation in Amman and member of the jury said the EU film awards were intended to "encourage all Jordanian film-makers and producers and stimulate film production in Jordan".

"I hope this is only the first step of a mutual, fruitful cooperation in the film industry field," Bedjaoui added.

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