First edition of Jordan Children’s Film Festival to kicks off Thursday

By JT - Nov 22,2022 - Last updated at Nov 22,2022

AMMAN — The first edition of the Jordan Children’s Film Festival (JCFF), organised by the Royal Film Commission (RFC), will kick off on Thursday.

The festival presents daily screenings until Sunday at the Rainbow Theatre in Jabal Amman, according to a RFC statement.

The JCFF is the first of its kind in the Kingdom and one of the few in the region that solely focuses on movies for the youth, the statement said. The audience will get the chance to watch a variety of recent Arab and international productions, suitable for children above 10 years old and some for those above six. The RFC had launched an open call for film submissions two months prior to the festival.

Children will get exposed to different environments and learn about different cultures through four feature narrative family movies: The opening film “Jackie and Oopjen” from the Netherlands; “Jim Button and the Wild 13” from Germany; “A Butterfly’s Heart” from Lithuania; and “Wolfwalkers” from Ireland.

Moreover, 14 short narrative and animation films from Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Algeria, Canada, Malta and Georgia will be showcased.

Screenings will be followed by discussions with film experts encouraging the young audience to think, analyse and exchange ideas.

Out of competition, the festival will screen a special episode — not previously broadcast — from the famous Jordanian kids’ programme “Ahlan Simsim”, followed by a puppetry show.

The RFC formed two juries: One is made-up of adult professionals working in the audio-visual industry that includes producer Khaled Haddad, the manager of Ro’ya Kids Platform, Lara Safadi, and the head of the Theatre Department at the Ministry of Education, Bassem Awad; the second jury gives children the opportunity to select their favourite movie.

The audience will also have its say by selecting its favourite title.

The best feature film and best short film will receive cash awards.

Mohannad Al Bakri, the RFC’s managing director, said: “We are proud to launch the first Jordan Children’s Film Festival, as we strongly believe in the power of cinema and filmmaking and their impact on the youth. The festival offers a different content from what they see on TVs and online platforms, and is an open space for children to interact with their peers.

“We are also organising two training workshops in the framework of the festival: ‘Draw Your Story’ and ‘Makeup and Effects in Cinema’, to engage children in some of the aspects of filmmaking, tapping into their creativity and talents. The RFC will also hold a panel discussion on the need to increase cinematic and cultural production for children in Arabic.”

“The festival was not a spur of the moment, but is rather in line with the RFC’s ongoing efforts targeting children in Amman and the governorates and as a continuation of our already existing activities: Film in Schools programme in cooperation with the Ministry of Education; a Film Caravan touring the Kingdom to showcase movies for kid; and training programs for children,” he added

The closing ceremony will be held on Sunday at 6pm at the Rainbow Theatre, where a collection of short films will be showcased followed by the announcement of the winning movies.

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