Jarash: Executive Director of the Jarash Festival for Culture and Arts, Ayman Samawi, officially announced the opening of applications for the first-ever "Jarash International Film Festival." The cinematic event is set to launch on August 15 as a cornerstone of the festival's landmark 40th edition, which begins its broader cultural activities in early May.
According to Jordan News Agency, filmmakers from across the globe are invited to submit their works via the FilmFreeway platform. This inaugural edition will focus on a specialized "Musical Film" theme, accepting feature-length narratives, documentaries, and both long and short animated works that center on musical storytelling or rely heavily on musical scores for their narrative structure. The deadline for submissions is May 25, with the final selection of participating films to be announced on July 1.
A key highlight of the new festival is the introduction of a specialized "Projects Market" designed to support Jordanian and Arab filmmakers. In a strategic partnership with the Royal Film Commission (RFC), the festival has pledged to fund the production of three short films by Jordanian creators. Screenings and industry events are scheduled to take place at iconic venues, including the Amman Citadel and the Royal Cultural Center.
Samawi emphasized that the festival's criteria prioritize the presence of musical cinema from diverse regions, including the Arab world, Asia, and the Americas. This diversity aims to showcase how global cinema "sings" in various languages and cultures, reflecting the universal values of continuity and peace.
The "Jarash International Film Festival" is envisioned as a qualitative, thematic event that will evolve annually. In a unique nod to Jordan's heritage, each subsequent edition will be hosted at a different archaeological site across the Kingdom, carrying a renewed humanitarian theme each year to cement its status as a specialized platform for aesthetic and humanistic artistic messages.