Shooting begins on 1st Jordanian feature film in 50 years

Movie brings together Hollywood producers with first-time child actors from Jordan’s refugee camps



By Paul Tate

AMMAN — Mention Jordan and filmmaking and most people think of British director David Lean’s epic Lawrence of Arabia shot in the desert of Wadi Rum. But Jordanian director Amin Matalqa is determined to change all that.

The Los Angeles-based filmmaker is currently in town with a 60-strong crew to shoot the first Jordanian-made feature film in 50 years.

Set in Amman, Captain Abu Raed tells the story of an airport janitor who dreams of seeing the world but has to make do with books and brief encounters with passengers.

Back in his poor neighbourhood, however, word has it that he really is a pilot and local children gather to hear magical tales of distant lands, which he willingly relates until one day he discovers that behind the children’s dreams lie stark realities of poverty and destitution.

“I wanted to tell a tale of a man with limited means but big dreams, which he passes on to children who still have the time to turn them into a reality. It is ultimately a universal tale of friendship, hope and overcoming adversity,” said Matalqa.

The 30-year-old director, who himself comes from a family of pilots, told The Jordan Times that the idea was originally conceived back in 2005 with editor Laith Majali at a production studio in Los Angeles.

It was there that the two met producer David Pritchard of The Simpsons and Family Guy fame. Pritchard sent a copy of the script to producer Ken Kokin of the multi-Oscar winning The Usual Suspects, who in turn brought on board cinematographer Reinhart Peschki, renowned for such Hollywood blockbusters as JFK, Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July.

“The whole thing just steamrolled and before we knew it we had an amazing crew of professionals,” said Matalqa, who managed to raise the film’s budget from Jordan’s business community.

The filming of the two-hour movie will begin on Tuesday and over the following four weeks will be shot at the Citadel, downtown Amman, a studio set in Ashrafieh and Queen Alia International Airport.

Matalqa said he spent the whole of last year trying to find the right locations and was taken aback by the sheer quality of the sites.

“It’s hard to believe that Amman has never been filmed before. People usually come to Jordan to shoot in the desert but there are so many other great locations here,” he said.

The film’s cast brings together an uncanny mixture of seasoned actors and complete novices.

Veteran Jordanian/British actor Nadim Sawalha of Syriana fame plays the lead role, with Rana Sultan from Jordan TV cast as a young female captain who befriends Abu Raed.

Sawalha remembers meeting a young Matalqa 15 years earlier on a flight from Los Angeles to Jordan with American director Blake Edwards when the two were shooting Son of the Pink Panther.

“Amin’s father was actually flying the plane and asked me if his son could come and visit the set. Fifteen years later he phones me up out of the blue and tells me he’s making a film and would I like to get on board,” said Sawalha.

“Here I am playing a poor janitor and in a few weeks I’ll be back in London playing millionaire tycoon Mohammad Al Fayed in Diana, A Disaster Waiting to Happen,” said Sawalha, amused at the irony of his situation.

The children of Abu Raed’s neighbourhood were chosen after Matalqa spent last July and August scouting Jordan’s summer camps.

He eventually selected 12 children aged 9-13, all but one from the country’s impoverished refugee camps and with not a jot of acting experience between them.

One of the film’s producers, Nadine Toukan, told The Jordan Times that apart from coming from desperately poor backgrounds, most of these children have only one parent and some don’t even have citizenship as their fathers are Egyptian.

“Coming from this background to star in a feature film has been a truly life changing experience for these kids,” said Toukan.

“Their families were thrilled at the prospect of their children being in a film and have been one hundred per cent supportive. Like any parents, they want the best for their children.”

Matalqa said he intentionally sought out youngsters from deprived backgrounds to prove that social status bears no relationship to talent, and also because it fits with the overall theme of the film about disadvantaged people attempting to realise their dreams.

“We were casting for over a year and some of these kids just stood out immediately,” he said, referring to Hussein Al Sous, who plays the leading child Murad.

Matalqa said he hopes the movie, which will premier in Amman at the end of this year, will motivate more Jordanians to develop an interest in filmmaking.

“It’s scandalous that not a single Jordanian feature film has been made for 50 years. This movie is intended to put the country back on the map while sending a strong message to Hollywood that this is a truly great place to film.”

Saturday, May 19, 2007