Jordan Film Fund announces grants to 15 projects in its 8th cycle

The Royal Film Commission - Jordan (RFC) announced Wednesday that 15 cinematic projects were granted financial support by the Jordan Film Fund (JFF) in its Eighth cycle for the year 2023 with a total amount of Four hundred fifty thousand (450,000) Jordanian dinars, almost doubling the budget of the previous cycles.119 projects were submitted to the fund, and 93 projects were eligible, marking an increase of more than 61% compared to the previous cycle.

This is attributed to the rise in the JFF’s general budget, particularly the doubling of the budget for certain categories, such as feature and short narrative film production categories, as well as the feature narrative film co-production category.

An independent jury of Jordanian and Arab filmmakers and professionals met in Amman, over three days, to evaluate eligible submissions after the first phase of individual evaluations during the past two months. The jury was made of nine members: Egyptian writer, director, producer and visual artist Jehan ElTahri; Egyptian writer, director and academic Viola Shafik; Egyptian producer Shahinaz El Akkad; Egyptian writer, director and producer Ahmed Amer; Tunisian producer Lina Chaabane; Lebanese producer and director Myriam Sassine; Lebanese director and academic Hadi Zaccak; Kuwaiti producer Talal Al-Muhanna; and Jordanian writer and director Zaid Abu Hamdan.

Commenting on the submissions and selection process, the jury noted in its statement: “The projects featured a variety of topics, presented within an ambitious context that aspires to make promising films, and made the final selection after fruitful discussions to support filmmakers despite the challenging task due to numerous competing projects. The jury congratulates Jordanian filmmakers for their supported projects, hoping that its contribution will help advance Jordanian cinema globally.”

Mohannad Al-Bakri, the RFC’s Managing Director, said: “The projects submitted to the Jordan Film Fund (JFF) this year were highly competent, which indicates the progress achieved by the film industry in Jordan, thanks to the combined efforts of all concerned institutions and individuals. This effort culminated in the representation of Jordan this year at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for the first time, which clearly indicates the capabilities of Jordanian filmmakers and the success of the efforts made by the JFF with the aim of promoting Jordanian cinema and bringing it to the world.”