Amman, 13 May 2018 - The Jury of the "We Are Jerusalem" Short Film Competition gathered on Friday 4th of May 2018 to discuss and review the films that were submitted after the Jury’s previous decision to extend the deadline until 16th of April.   

The Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC) had launched the competition following the crisis around Jerusalem. The films are meant to illustrate the strength of Jerusalem’s culture, with original content that can pass a universal message. Primarily, the deadline for receiving the films was on the 21st of January, and then it got extended until the 16th of April. The decision was taken in order to allow the filmmakers, who had already submitted a film, to review their work and modify them or to submit another film as per the competition’s regulations, as well as to allow other filmmakers to enter the competition. 

Following its recent meeting, the Jury - composed of the Jordanian actress and producer Saba Mubarak, the Algerian director and producer Salem Brahimi and the Jordanian lawyer and social activist Saed Karajah - issued the following statement: 

“In the first phase of receiving films for the competition, 20 films among those submitted were pre-selected to be evaluated by the Jury. The Jury members unanimously agreed to withdraw the two award, as the films submitted deserved more time and effort in order for them to address the theme "We Are Jerusalem" adequately and/ or reach a better level. Thus, the deadline for submissions was extended out of fairness to all filmmakers: those who submitted their films, which gave them the opportunity to either review and refine their works or submit another work, and other filmmakers who couldn’t participate and therefore got the chance to join the competition.

After the deadline’s extension, five films were pre-selected for the Jury’s consideration. However, the Jury did not feel that these films achieved a better level in terms of content, message and technicalities. 

Subsequently, the Jury decided to withhold the two prizes. 

This decision was taken out of the Jury’s keenness to stick to professionalism and credibility, due to the importance of the competition’s subject and the message it holds. 

The Jury thanks all the directors who submitted their movies, hoping that this competition will not discourage them from pursuing their efforts in filmmaking.” 

It is worth mentioning that the total number of films that we pre-selected for the competition was 25 films: 13 from Jordan, 4 from Palestine, 3 from Tunisia, 2 from Egypt, 1 from Syria, 1 from Yemen and 1 from Morocco.

In light of the above, the Royal Film Commission - Jordan (RFC) has decided to use the amount of money that had been allocated for the two prizes - a total of 5,000 Jordanian dinars - to organize a screening event of previously produced films on the city of Jerusalem and Palestine, which also coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Nakba.

The RFC thanks all participants for their interest in the competition and their enthusiasm to compete, and hopes that they will continue to strive to make more films and to share them with the Commission in the future.