AMMAN - Captain Abu Raed's bid for a Foreign Film Oscar ended prematurely on Wednesday, as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science shortlist of nine foreign features nominated for the award failed to include the Jordanian film.
The film did not pass the field of 65 movies considered for the distinction as the academy issued the shortlist of nine, ending a remarkable run for Jordan's first ever submission to the Oscars and its first feature film in over 50 years.
"It is obviously regretful, we were extremely hopeful Abu Raed would achieve at least a nomination," Royal Film Commission (RFC) communications and culture manager Nada Doumani told The Jordan Times, noting that Italian Oscar-favourite and Cannes Film Festival award-winner "Gomorrah" also did not make the final cut.
"Just the fact that we managed to have a film that met Oscar standards is an achievement in itself, one we hope will spur future innovation and filmmaking to maintain that standard," she said.
Written and directed by Amin Matalqa and produced by Kevin Pritchard, Captain Abu Raed tells the story of a reclusive airport janitor, played by Nadim Sawalha, who dreams of seeing the world, but has to make do with books and brief encounters with passengers.
The film, which through everyday characters touches upon themes such as poverty, child labour and domestic violence, first gained international attention by receiving the World Cinema Audience Award for a dramatic piece at the Sundance Film Festival.
The movie was filmed in various locations in east and west Amman, the Citadel, a studio set in Ashrafieh and Queen Alia International Airport.
Captain Abu Raed was chosen by a committee headed by former tourism minister Munir Nasser to represent the Kingdom at the initial field of countries and was quickly endorsed by the RFC.
The nine films that went on to the second round for nomination are: France's "The Class", Israel's "Waltz with Bashir", Austria's "Revanche", Canada's "The Necessities of Life", Germany's "The Baader Meinhof Complex", Japan's "Departures", Mexico's "Tear This Heart Out", Sweden's "Everlasting Moments" and Turkey's "3 Monkeys", the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
The field will be narrowed down to five finalists when Oscar nominations are announced on January 22.
By Taylor Luck
© Jordan Times 2009
