Director Amjad Al-Rasheed’s Jordanian film “Inshallah a Boy” is to take part in the official competition of Duhok International Film Festival, as part of the international competition for feature films with 8 films from 9 countries from across the world between (9-16) December. The festival is held in Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq, and presents new and exciting cinema from all over the world, as well as Kurdish cinema.

Director Al-Rasheed mentioned that “Inshallah a Boy” is a true story about Nawal who, after the sudden death of her husband, becomes at risk of losing her home to her brother-in-law, Rafiq, according to inheritance laws.

She is forced to save her daughter and keep her home in a society where things would turn upside down if she gave birth to a son. The film received multiple international awards and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. It was also nominated to represent Jordan in the 2024 Oscars.

Producer Shahinaz Al-Akkad stated, “Even though it tackles the story of a Jordanian woman, choosing any woman in any other society would be suitable and expressive. Regarding the films I produced, they would be expressive if they were moved from Jordan to any other country.

They reflect human beings regardless of the place. When the audiences of Cannes Festival watched the film, they were impressed and affected by it. I thought only Arab audiences would be affected by the film and feel its theme, for they live its details. Indeed, I didn’t expect that Western society would be affected as well. Apparently, all females on the planet experience the same suffering”.

The film’s screening in the festival comes as part of its tour of international festivals. It achieved huge success in its world premiere at Cannes Festival within the proceedings of the Critics’ Week. Basically, it was the first Jordanian feature film to take part in such prestigious festival.

Furthermore, it received the Gan Foundation Award, Rail d’Or for Feature Films, and Special Jury Award at Baghdad Film Festival. The film also received the Best First Feature Award in the Asian Cinema Competition at the Bengaluru International Film Festival in India, Best Performance Award at the Red Sea International Film Festival, Best Actress Award at Asia Pacific Screen Festival and Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and Best Screenplay Award for a Feature Film at Mystic Film Festival in the USA.

“Inshallah a Boy” won around 26 awards. It took part in 100 international festivals, including: Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, Melbourne International Film Festival, London Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and Amman International Film Festival, where it competed for the Best Film Award. It also took part in the feature film competition at the second Nouakchott International Film Festival in the Mauritanian capital.

The film is directed by Amjad Al-Rasheed, and co-written by Delphine Agut and Rula Nasser, starring Mouna Hawa, Haitham Al-Omari, Yumna Marwan, Salwa Naqqara, Mohamed Gizawi, Eslam El-Awady, and Selena Rabab’ah.

It is produced by the Imaginarium Films; Rula Nasser and Aseel Abu Ayyash, along with “Bayt Al Shawareb”; Youssef Abd El-Nabi, Georges Films; Nicolas Leprêtre and Raphaël Alexandre, and Lagoonie Film Production; Shahinaz Al-Akkad, which takes part in the film’s distribution in the Arab world.

Pyramide International is responsible for international sales. Moreover, the film’s project received numerous awards; four awards from Final Cut workshop at Venice International Film Festival, and top prize in post-production “Atlas Post-Production” at the Marrakech International Film Festival.

It also received a development grant from the Cairo Film Connection, Amman Film Market grant, and Thessaloniki Agora Festival. It won an award at Freiburg International Film Festival in Switzerland.

Additionally, the film received support from the Royal Film Commission of Jordan in two editions; production and post-production support, as well as Jordan Film Incentives, benefiting from tax exemption and production incentives program.

Besides, the film received production support from Jordan Film Fund, ART, and Doha Film Institute. It received support from the Red Sea Fund for production and post-production in its first edition, as well as the National Centre for Cinema and Moving Images (CNC).