Jordanian feature to be screened at Toronto film festival

The Jordanian film "When I Saw You" by writer and director Annemarie Jacir has been selected to be screened at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), scheduled to start in September. A statement issued by the production company Philistine Films said the feature will be the first Jordanian film to be screened at TIFF. "When I Saw You" is Amman-based filmmaker Jacir's second feature film, the statement said.   Set in Jordan in 1967, the independent film was made with a local cast and crew and shot in the Kingdom. After winning seven post-production awards at the 53rd Thessaloniki International Film Festival and receiving support from several international film funds, the feature was completed. The film tells the story of Tarek, an eccentric young boy, and his mother, who have just arrived in Jordan to escape the aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The two are placed in a temporaryrefugee camp. "Having been separated from his father in the chaos of war, Tarek's curious nature and sense of hope lead him to decide to run away, and with his mother close behind, they live a journey that will change their lives forever," the statement said. "An 11-year-old boy and his mother enact the emancipating dream that every refugee has imagined countless times, in Annemarie Jacir's passionate and moving follow-up to her prize-winning debut 'Salt of This Sea'," according to a synopsis on the TIFF official website. The 93-minute movie will be screened under the festival's Contemporary World Cinema section. Jacir's previous film "Salt of This Sea" debuted at the Cannes International Film Festival as an official selection in 2008 and went on to win several awards. The film was produced by Ossama Bawardi of Philistine Films and stars Mahmoud Asfa, from Irbid Refugee Camp in his first acting role, Saleh Bakri and Ruba Blal, the statement said. From JT