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Ammon News - The first edition of Jordan Children’s Film Festival kicked off Thursday, with the participation of 18 films, ranging from long and short narrative films, directed to children over the age of six.

Organized by the Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC), the 4-day festival presents daily screenings at the Rainbow Theater in Jabal Amman.

In the opening ceremony, which was attended by a crowd of children interested in cinema, RFC Managing Director, Muhannad Al-Bakri, said, "The RFC is aware of the importance of the cinema's impact on children from an early age." He added, "Launching the festival is a continuation of our already existing activities: Film in Schools program in cooperation with the Ministry of Education; a Film Caravan touring the Kingdom to showcase movies for kid; and training programs for children."

The festival activities began with the screening of "Jackie and Oopjen" from the Netherlands, along with other three feature films: "Button and the Wild 13" from Germany; "A Butterfly’s Heart" from Lithuania; "Wolfwalkers" from Ireland.

The festival, the first of its kind, presents cash prizes for the two films that won the "Best Feature Film Award" and "Best Short Narrative Film Award", which will be selected by two juries, including a group of children selected by the RFC and will give them the opportunity to choose the winning film according to their understanding of the context of events.

The opening film was preceded by a ceremony in which honorary certificates were presented to children participating in the "Art of Drawing" course organized by the RFC in cooperation with the artist Omar Al-Abdallat.