JORDAN: Award–winning Jordanian feature narrative “Theeb”, by director Naji Abu Nowar, is Jordan’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 88th Academy Awards, the Royal Film Commission (RFC) said Tuesday. The selection was made by a committee of Jordanian artists and craftspeople involved in the local art scene.

The RFC of Jordan organized the process as the country’s official submitting body for the Oscar. Telling a Bedouin story of brotherhood and betrayal set in Wadi Rum in 1916, “Theeb” fits the special rules of eligibility for the Foreign Language Film Award category, the commission said in a statement. It has been released commercially in Amman for six weeks. “Theeb” has also been commercially released in over 20 countries around the world and has participated in over 50 film festivals internationally.

Following the film’s successful world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in 2014, Abu Nowar’s directorial debut has been highly acclaimed by different audiences and critics around the world. It has won 13 prestigious international film awards, including: Best Director Award in Venice festival’s Orizzonti (New Horizons) competition and the New Horizons’ Best Film from the Arab World Award and the FIPRESCI Award for Best Narrative Film at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Commenting on the nomination of the film, the selection committee’s chairman, Adnan Awamleh, founder of Arab Telemedia, said: “’Theeb’ has remarkable elements, be it the storyline or the cinematography or the direction. Its high standard brings Jordanian cinema to the world. And we wish the film all the success it deserves.”

In previous years, Jordan submitted “Captain Abu Raed” by Amin Matalqa and “Cherkess” by Mohyeddin Quandour for the same category.