Amman, 22nd
October 2021
The Jordanian - German short film “TALA’VISION”, written and
directed by Murad Abu Eisheh, achieved a significant success by winning the
Gold Medal for Best Narrative Film at the 48th Students Academy
Awards in the Foreign Narrative Film section, marking the first Jordanian and
Arab film to win in this category.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscars)
announced the winners at an awards ceremony held in Los Angeles, USA, on Thursday,
October 21st, 2021, where "TALA’VISION” competed with six other
films in the Foreign Short Film Competition.
Starring Ziad Bakri, Aisha Blasim and Khaled Al Tarifi, the
film tells the story of eight-year-old girl, Tala, who is trapped inside the
house due to the raging war. Her only contact with the outside world is her
small television, but her father gets rid of it in compliance with the law
banning televisions. Tala's life is overcome by silence and boredom until she
makes a small decision, which will have repercussions changing the course of
her life forever.
In an interview with The Royal Film Commission – Jordan
(RFC), Abu Eisheh expressed his excitement about receiving this award and said:
“The Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, where I study, selected my film
TALA’VISION to be submitted to the Students Academy Awards to represent the
university. The film was chosen out of around 300 films produced annually by
the university’s students. Whereas the number of submitted films to compete reached
some 2000 films from around the world and our film competed with six films in
the foreign narrative film category, and we are happy with this achievement.”
He added: “Any film that wins at the Students Academy Awards is automatically eligible
for the Oscars, so we submitted TALA’VISION to compete in the short films
category and we are full of hope.”
“TALA’VISION” is a Jordanian-German co-production produced by
Tabi 360 and The Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in co-production with SWR and
Jordan Pioneers. Commenting on the local funding, the film producer, Jude
Kawwa, said: “The local support the film received is from The Jordan Film Fund
managed by The Royal Film Commission - Jordan, as well as Jordan Pioneers. I
would like to stress the importance of local support for Jordanian producers,
especially when they engage in co-productions, as it empowers them in terms of
rights, distribution, receiving awards and helping Jordanian directors to tell
their stories through films.”
The film toured several international film festivals and had
its World Premiere at the 42nd Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival in Germany, where
it received both the Audience and Jury Award for Best Medium Film for the first
time in the festival’s history to award the same film. It has also won the 1st Prize for a Live
Action Short Film at Flicker's Rhode Island International Film Festival, the
New Comer Award for Best Camera at the German Camera Award as well as the Jury
Award at the 61st Zlin Film Festival.
Mohannad Al Bakri, The RFC’s Managing Director, commented on
this achievement and said: “The success of TALA’VISION is a beautiful addition
to the Jordanian film scene winning at the Students Academy Awards, especially
that it is an important global platform showcasing talents of emerging
filmmakers from around the world. We are proud of this achievement and it is a
proof of the young Jordanian filmmakers’ potential and creativity. We are
delighted that the film was supported by the Jordan Film Fund, in its fourth
cycle in 2019, which reflects the importance of local support in enabling
filmmakers, especially in Jordan, to tell their stories and deliver them to the
world.”
It is worth mentioning that the Jordanian short animated film
“Ayny”, by Ahmad Saleh, had won the Gold Medal for Best Foreign Animation at
the Students Academy Awards in 2016.
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