‘Theeb’ opens new horizons for its stars, badia residents

SHAKRIYEH/AMMAN – Sitting in the Kingdom’s southern desert and holding up his smartphone, Hassan Maraaiah proudly shows many friend’s requests he has received from strangers on Facebook after his performance in the Jordanian film “Theeb”. 

Yet the “celebrity life” is of secondary importance for Maraaiah. Instead, he feels “relieved” that “Theeb”, the first Jordanian movie to be nominated for an Oscar, treats the area’s residents fairly and presents “real facts”.

The coming-of-age tale depicts a young bedouin boy, Theeb, trying to survive in the Wadi Rum desert during the Great Arab Revolt in 1916.

“Jordanian drama series do not truly represent us, because local directors used to tell stories without double-checking with the people in the badia, so most of the details presented in their works were inaccurate,” Maraaiah told The Jordan Times on Friday. 

“We have hundreds of Jordanian series, but we only see the same faces and themes They have not tackled any real issues, such as how the area’s residents deal with life in the desert,” the 40-year-old added.

He described “Theeb” as “honest” because it sends a message of humanity and peace — aspects fundamental to the Southern Badia and the whole Kingdom.    

Bassel Ghandour, the movie’s co-writer and producer, said the creators of “Theeb” stayed in the Southern Badia’s Shakriyeh for almost one year to get the details of local life right. 

“The village’s residents and its elderly people help develop the script and story. We used their real dialect so that they would feel comfortable acting; so I can say that they also took part in making the movie,” he told The Jordan Times in a recent interview in Amman.  

New opportunities

The award-winning “bedouin-Western”, directed and co-scripted by Naji Abu Nowar, has opened new opportunities for its cast members and brought greater publicity to the region, they said. 

Hussein Suweilheen, who played Theeb’s brother, said no one in the area paid attention to anything related to cinema before the film shoot.

“After area residents watched the movie, many thanked us for our efforts in exposing our region to the world and for introducing them to the world of cinema, which for them was previously limited to Egyptian films,” Suweilheen told the Jordan Times at one of the movie’s shooting locations. 

Given the difficulties currently experienced in the tourism sector across the Kingdom due to instability in the region, residents of the Wadi Rum area are exploring work in the film sector.

“I am thinking of participating in the documentary field because it is real and tells facts, and tourism is not as profitable as it was in the past here,” Suweilheen added. 

He noted that he has worked on five TV documentaries, including for German channels and National Geographic Abu Dhabi. Maraaiah said many of his neighbours contacted him to ask how they could follow in his footsteps. 

“After ‘Theeb’, I became a bedouin specialist for TV shows,” he added. 

However, the film has also boosted local tourism by giving more prominence to the Wadi Rum area.

Suweilheen recalled that after the critically acclaimed movie was screened in Italy, members of the audience visited him in Wadi Rum and camped there. 

“The area was known before the movie, but it amplified its exposure and brought many visitors from the whole world,” Maraaiah said.

The most important element of the movie for him was that it revealed to the whole world the hardships and challenges facing badia residents. 

“We were neglected and no one knew about our concerns.” 

Highlighting traditions

While many Jordanians were surprised to see the film achieve such great success, Suweilheen said the dedication of the crew gave him the impression that the movie will be a big hit. 

“The first time I went to a movie theatre was in Italy. It was a strange feeling to see myself on the screen, but I was happy that I performed the role well. After the end of the screening people kept cheering for us for 10 minutes,” he said with a smile. 

Despite the popularity of the film, its star Jacir Eid, who played the titular role, has returned to his simple life, “hanging out” with his friends at school. 

“I was so happy acting and it was an exciting experience. My friends were amazed that I starred in a film,” he told The Jordan Times.  

The 15-year-old said he will only accept further acting roles if the works highlight the traditions of his ancestors.  

For similar reasons, the success of the movie inspired Maraaiah to encourage his son to consider a career in film. 

“I am encouraging him to study film directing because we have a rich culture and we need to take advantage of it and show it to the world.”