Jordan’s vibrant film industry continues to evolve thanks in large part to the diversity of filmmaking talent determined to tell unique stories, from intimate portraits and locally-based genres to historical accounts and the realities of the region’s refugee crisis.
Although film remains a competitive field, Jordan’s film sector provides strong support to many up-and-coming filmmakers, from training to networking and funding through the Jordan Film Academy, Royal Film Commission, Jordan Film Fund, and Amman Film Festival.
Many projects that participated in last year’s Amman Film Industry Day have made significant progress.
The documentary project by Khaled al-Suwidan (al-Khaldi), tentatively titled “Amal,” initially won two major development awards in Amman in 2024, followed by further awards in Cairo, and was selected for the year-long Story House (Bayt Al-Hikayat) development program. Al Khaldi said the project was much closer to production and final financing after receiving production support from the Jordan Film Fund last year. “Amal” will then head to First Cut Lab Doha where it will enter the next stage of editorial and creative development.
The film follows two Syrian sisters, Amal and Baraa, survivors of early marriage, as they try to rebuild their lives, but are taken in very different directions in the aftermath of displacement. Amal lives in Zaatari refugee camp, while Bala moved to Amman to start a new life away from family and social constraints.
“The project continues to evolve creatively,” Al Khaldi says. “One of the most important developments occurred after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. This led to the restructuring of the film’s key narrative threads and major revisions to the script, including the return of one of the main characters to Syria.”
Al-Kaldi, who is originally from Syria, has lived in Jordan since 2011. It primarily focuses on producing documentary and observational films.
“After the Syrian war, I lived in Jordan’s socially complex environment and witnessed firsthand changes and issues that are difficult to access or fully understand from the outside. This experience has allowed me to build trust and gain access to stories and characters that remain beyond the reach of the camera.”
Al-Hardis is currently working on a new short documentary that “traces the lives of women living in the context of their husbands’ involvement in drug smuggling and focuses on the impact this has on their daily lives, choices and social status.”
Al Khaldi explains that projects like this take years to build trust and relationships within the community. The struggle of women in this region is a theme close to the filmmaker.
“Being the eldest of five sisters has made me more aware of the layers of violence and social pressures women face in our society, which directly influences the themes I explore.” Al Khaldi’s wife, producer Loujain Hamdan, also played a key role in deepening his involvement with these issues, he added.
Al Khaldi is not alone in his desire to share intimate stories that explore the realities of his community.
Alaa Alassad, a producer at Amman-based Tabi360, says filmmakers in Jordan and West Asia are increasingly eager to tell their stories without compromising their vision.
“We are witnessing a shift to narratives that prioritize universal human experience over cultural stereotypes,” he added.
Alassad produced Zain Dulay’s feature debut, “Think,” which in many ways represents a new direction in Jordanian and West Asian cinema.
‘sink’
Provided by Tabi360
The film, which will be screened at the Shanghai Film Festival, centers on a desperate mother grappling with her teenage son’s mental illness, a subject rarely discussed in the Arab world but an unexpected one in the West.
“I believe ‘Think’ is an important turning point for contemporary West Asian cinema because it reclaims our right to tell intimate, deeply human stories without the need to justify them through a geopolitical lens.
“For a long time, the international market expected Arab films to focus exclusively on war, poverty and politics. With ‘Think’ we prove that our inner psychological landscapes, such as families struggling with mental illness, can be just as compelling and have universal resonance.”
But during the film’s development, the filmmakers “faced pushback from traditional Western funding sources asking why the characters didn’t fit the preconceived notions of a Jordanian family,” Alassad said. “But modern-day Jordan is diverse, middle-class, and complex. My job as a producer was to protect Zayn’s authentic voice. We represent a new wave of films that refuse to titillate our culture for foreign audiences.”
Alasad says it was natural to reteam with Dulay after co-starring in the director’s short film Give Up the Ghost, which premiered in Venice in 2019.
“She has a very unique voice from Jordan that resonates well around the world. She truly understands the craft of filmmaking and is the type of director any producer would dream of collaborating with.”
Producing Sink was a “no-brainer” for Alassad, who splits his time between Amman and Dubai for work.
“From the moment Zayn first told me about this project, it felt very personal to her, to me, and to everyone involved. Addressing mental health is an issue that we haven’t explored enough. In the Arab world, it’s often a taboo subject. It was very important for us to bring this story to light.”
Gianluca Chakra, president of Dubai-based Front Row Productions, similarly points out that filmmakers in Jordan and across West Asia are creating work that is deeply rooted in local environments, but told through a cinematic language that can travel.
“Boomer”
front row
That’s also the defining characteristic of Zeid Abu Hamdan’s crime thriller Boomer, which is also opening in Shanghai: “The film embraces genre, strong characters, and emotional storytelling while staying connected to the social realities that inspired it.”
He added that the film is “locally rooted, but internationally accessible.” “And they tell stories specific to their environments while speaking to universal themes of dignity, survival, redemption, and hope.”
More and more filmmakers in the region are moving in that direction, Chakra said.
“What excites me most is the confidence of a new generation of filmmakers. They tell stories in their own voices, embrace local realities, and believe that authenticity will make their stories popular. There is a growing idea that Jordanian stories don’t need to imitate anyone else to find an audience.
“Jordan may not be the largest market in the region, but it has become one of the most respected. That reputation has been earned through resilience, consistency and an unwavering commitment to storytelling.”
Jordan’s upcoming films include “Joe of Montreal,” directed by renowned Palestinian filmmaker Amin Naifeh, which Alassad is producing with his brother Bassam Alassad. The film follows Naifeh’s 2020 award-winning debut feature “200 Meters,” about a Palestinian family separated by an Israeli wall, which premiered in Venice. “Joe of Montreal” is scheduled to begin filming this year in Shobak, Jordan, and AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Alasad is also producing Lala Zidane’s debut feature, Birthday, which is expected to begin production at the end of the year.
“The last mayor of Jerusalem”
Kurdi-like
Upcoming documentaries include Kinda Kurdi’s The Last Mayor of Jerusalem and Hamza Hamida’s Asphalt, both of which were screened at last year’s Amman Film Industry Days.
Since then, Birds of War director and producer and Sundance 2026 winner Janai Boulos has joined Kurdi as a producer on The Last Mayor of Jerusalem, which blends archival material with adaptation and animation to tell the story of Rahi Khatib, the last Palestinian mayor of Jerusalem. As fundraising efforts continue, the project has also secured a co-production partner in Jordan.
‘asphalt’
Hamza Hamide
Produced by Mahmoud Massad, “Asphalt” is about a young Palestinian refugee from Jordan’s Baqaa camp who is forced to postpone his wedding due to the death of a relative in Gaza. The film is currently in post-production and editing.
