“200 Meters” film to Represent Jordan for 2021 Oscars International Feature Film Award


23-11-2020 01:27 PM

Ammon News - Jordan has selected “200 Meters”, by Ameen Nayfeh, as its official entry for the 2021 International Feature Film category of the 93rd Academy Awards (Oscar).

An expert committee made up of Jordanian professionals involved in the cultural and audiovisual scene chose this film, while The Royal Film Commission - Jordan organized the process, being the country’s official submitting body for the Oscar.

A family drama and a road movie, the film tells the story of a couple – Mustafa and Salwa - living in two Palestinian villages, only 200 meters apart but separated by the dividing wall. Their unusual living conditions and the hurdles encountered affect their otherwise happy marriage. One day, Mustafa gets a call: his son has had an accident and is hospitalized. Rushing to cross the Israeli checkpoint, his once 200-meter journey turns into an odyssey joined by other travelers all determined to cross the checkpoint.

“200 Meters” is the debut feature film of the young writer and director, who spent his formative years moving between Jordan and Palestine. It received a Development grant from the Jordan Film Fund and later took part in Rawi Screenwriters Lab in Jordan. It premiered at Venice Days last September, where it won the People’s Choice Award. It also won Best Actor award for Ali Suliman at Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and then went on to sweep three awards at El Gouna Film Festival: Cinema for Humanity Prize, FIPRESCI International Critics Prize and Best Actor. The film has also recently received The Meet the Neighbors Golden Alexander and Best Director awards at the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival as well as Extraordinary Stories Official Selection Special Screen Best Film at Seville Film Festival.

A statement of the committee, chaired by the Jordanian director Amin Matalqa, said: “On behalf of Jordan, we are proud to submit Ameen Nayfeh’s “200 Meters” to the Academy Awards for the category of Best International Film. "200 Meters" tells the story of resilience and optimism in the face of man-made walls and barriers. Writer and director Ameen Nayfeh handles every detail with beautiful understated nuance, humor and humanity. Rarely does a film succeed on every level like this, from Ali Suliman’s absorbing performance to every character he meets on the road. With its superb writing and direction, this film will endure the test of time to become one of the great Arabic classics.”

The 2021 Oscars are taking place on the later date of April 25th, due to the global pandemic. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have revised exceptionally its eligibility criteria this year, notably with regard to theatrical release requirements.

Jordan was last nominated for the race in 2016 for “Theeb” by Naji Abu Nowar.




  • no comments

Notice
All comments are reviewed and posted only if approved.
Ammon News reserves the right to delete any comment at any time, and for any reason, and will not publish any comment containing offense or deviating from the subject at hand, or to include the names of any personalities or to stir up sectarian, sectarian or racial strife, hoping to adhere to a high level of the comments as they express The extent of the progress and culture of Ammon News' visitors, noting that the comments are expressed only by the owners.
name : *
email
show email
comment : *
Verification code : Refresh
write code :