Amman, 1st of July 2021
The Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC) continues to forge new international partnerships in the field of local training in the art of filmmaking. The RFC will cooperate with the Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF), with the support of the Swedish Institute, in organizing a new training program entitled the “Voices Amplified” project for producing short narratives. The project will take place from September 2021 to February 2022 in Amman.

As the Commission seeks to expand its network of international cooperation with the aim of providing the best training opportunities to Jordanian filmmakers and residents in Jordan, four short narrative projects will be selected to participate in the “Voices Amplified” project to tell stories around the theme of “Cultural Heritage”.

The project aims to build the filmmaking capabilities of the participants throughout the different stages. It will also provide them with mentorship for script development, production and post-production by professional Swedish and Jordanian filmmakers.

To complete the production of the four selected short narratives and to publicly screen the films in Jordan, “Amplified Voices” will grant 4,000 Jordanian dinars for each project.

At a later stage, the RFC and MAFF will resume their cooperation in the same project to produce four short documentary films.

Mohannad Al-Bakri, the RFC’s Managing Director, stressed the importance of local, regional and international partnerships in raising the level of the training programs organized by the Commission in the field if filmmaking, and thus the quality of the produced films through the various workshops.

He added: “We value our partnership with the Malmö Arab Film Festival and the support of the Swedish Institute. The importance of this partnership stems from the prestigious status of this festival; it is considered one of the most important Arab film festivals in Europe and the only festival in Scandinavia that highlights cinema and talents from the Arab region. Providing a platform through the festival’s 12th edition, where films that tell our Jordanian stories and reflect our cultural heritage will be screened to an international audience, is a great support for local talents.”

Mouhamed Keblawi, Founder and Head of the Malmö Arab Film Festival, commented: “We at the Malmö Arab Film Festival are proud of the cooperation with the Royal Film Commission - Jordan, and this is not the first cooperation, as the festival has previously worked, but briefly, with the Commission in three important projects, with funding from the Swedish Institute. Today, through the “Amplified Voices” project, this cooperation will take its best form and result in the production of eight short films, which will be hosted at two future editions of the festival. This project will give an opportunity to see stories we have not seen before from Jordan’s various Governorates and will contribute to building the capacity of young people across Jordan in the art of filmmaking. We are very happy to be part of this project.”

It is worth mentioning that the RFC has multiple partnerships in its local and regional training programs in filmmaking, including: Drosos Foundation, The European Union and The EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), Producers Guild of America, The Writers Guild Foundation - USA, The United Nations, Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO), The Embassy of France in Jordan and The U.S. Embassy in Jordan.

On another hand, the Commission also cooperates with local entities in the Film Centers managed by the RFC in seven Governorates, including: Al Hussein Fund for Excellence, Zain, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, King Abdullah II Fund for Development, Petra Development & Tourism Region Authority, Mafraq Youth Directorate, Yarmouk University, King Abdullah II Cultural Center, Zarqa Cultural Directorate and Anis Mouasher House in Salt.

Applications to the “Amplified Voices” project are open.
For more information, please visit the website: www.film.jo , or contact the Royal Film Commission – Jordan at: [email protected]