Jordan submits ‘INSHALLAH A BOY’ for consideration at 96th Academy Awards 

AMMAN — Jordan nominated the Jordanian feature narrative film “INSHALLAH A BOY”, by Amjad Al Rasheed, as the country’s official entry for the 96th Academy Awards (Oscars) to compete at the International Feature Film category for the year 2024.

An independent selection committee made up of six members — who are Jordanian professionals and experts in the audio-visual field — selected this movie, which was entirely shot in Jordan, according to a statement posted on the Royal Film Commission (RFC) website. 

Being the country’s official submitting body for the Oscars, the RFC organises the process which includes forming the selection committee, with no RFC’s representative. In August, the RFC had announced an open call for submissions for feature films to be nominated to the 2024 Academy Awards. 

The film is produced (and co-written) by Imaginarium Films’ award-winning Jordanian producer Rula Nasser, whose credits include THE ALLEYS, AMIRA, and HOLY SPIDER, and stars Muna Hawa, Haitham Al Omari, Salwa Nakkara, Yumna Marwan, Mohammad AI Jizawi and Eslam Al Awadi. It tells the story of a young widow, Nawal, who is in danger of losing hers and her daughter’s home. Nawal is trapped and deprived of options, but she decides to fight back.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival's 62nd Critics Week, which is the first time a Jordanian film competes in this prestigious festival. It also won the Gan Foundation Award and the Rail d'Or Award for Best Feature Film. It went on to win four more awards at the Final Cut in Venice Workshop at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, in addition to a production grant in 2019 and a post-production grant in 2022, both from the Jordan Film Fund/RFC, along with support from the Doha Film Institute and Red Sea Fund.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will announce the shortlisted films for the 2024 Oscars on December 21, whereas the nominated films will be announced on January 23 of next year. The 96th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 10, 2024.

Over the past years, Jordan had submitted to the Academy Awards eight films, including INSHALLA A BOY, for the same international category.