Ammon News - by Gaelle Sundelin/ Jordan Times

AMMAN — This year’s Franco-Arab Film Festival marks a turning point in the event’s maturity cycle, according to Institut Français director Charles-Henri Gros.

Gros said the 19th edition, which opens on Thursday night in Amman, will feature screenings in two additional countries for the first time, and had tougher admission criteria for films.

“We wish to progressively establish the festival as a major cinematographic event,” he told The Jordan Times.

Co-organised by the Greater Amman Municipality, Institut Français and the Royal Film Commission, the festival will be held in Jordan, Palestine and France, and for the first time this year, also in Lebanon and Iraq.

To the films for the festival, the Institut Francais relies on a team of volunteers who screened over 250 entries.

“When the festival first started, it was visionary, but it was limited to an artistic and friendly event. We have become more demanding in our film selection, also in terms of the overall technical aspects such as light and sound,” Gros said.

The quality shift in the film festival mirrors the evolution of Arab cinema which has been saluted by many foreign and Jordanian professionals, according to Gros.

“Arab films have always had a high quality, but today they are breaking away from topics like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict... filmmakers are still talking about social issues but they have broadened their vision,” he noted.

Gros also pointed to the cultural differences between Occidental and Oriental cinema.

“Artists from this region have this incredible chance of living in relatively young countries in terms of societal and political development... they have access to rich content and they can reflect upon their society as witnesses of the ongoing changes,” he said.

The Jordanian-Palestinian co-production “Condom Lead”, which was officially selected for the Short Film Competition at the 66th Cannes Film Festival this year, had initially been submitted to the Franco-Arab Film Festival.

The 14-minute short, which depicts the struggle of a couple to find intimacy amongst shelling and bombings during the 2008-2009 war on Gaza dubbed “Cast Lead”, was directed by Ahmad and Mohammad Abu Nasser.

“It is a positive sign of the quality of our festival to have films like “Condom Lead” submitted to us,” Gros said.

The festival, which concludes with the screening of the Saudi feature film “Wadjda” by Haifa Mansour, will also host workshops and a youth film section.

The 7th edition of the Jordanian Short Film Competition will also be held during the festival, with Jury and Audience awards for the Best Narrative and Best Feature film, according to a statement released by Institut Français.