Award-Winning Film Director from Jordan Reflects on the Importance of Film

In September, the Riyada podcast will highlight the world of arts and film, a budding sector across the MENA region. To kick off the discussion, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Amin Matalqa, a pioneering filmmaker from Jordan. Amin’s first film, Captain Abu Raed (2008), won the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award and was the first Oscar submission from Jordan. He’s gone on to direct other films and TV shows, including Disney’s soccer drama The United (2012) and Jinn (2019), Netflix’s first Arabic show.

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This podcast was funded by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.

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