‘Tala’Vision’ lands on 94th Oscars shortlist

AMMAN — The short film “Tala’Vision”, written and directed by Jordanian filmmaker Murad Abu Eisheh, has been shortlisted to the Live Action Short Film category for the 94th Academy Awards being the only Arab movie in all categories to be shortlisted. 

“Tala’Vision” will compete with 14 films in the Live Action Short Film category, which were selected among 145 films qualified in the category, according to a statement posted on the Royal Film Commission website.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday announced the shortlisted films for the 2022 Oscars in 10 different categories, whereas the nominated films will be announced on February 8, 2022, while the Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 27.

The film — starring Ziad Bakri, Aisha Blasim and Khaled Al Tarifi — 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.

The young Jordanian filmmaker Abu Eisheh commented on this achievement, saying: “All the cast and crew are very happy and proud of the film’s success and the opportunity to represent Jordan and Arab cinema at the 2022 Oscars. I am still in a state of shock following this honour. We thank everyone who supported and funded the film, especially the Royal Film Commission — Jordan and Jordan Pioneers.”

A wide and diverse audience around the world got the chance to watch “Tala’Vision”, which toured a number of prestigious international film festivals. 

In October, the RFC organised a private special screening, in the presence of its cast and crew, to celebrate emerging Jordanian talents in the film industry as well as the film’s continuous success.

 “Tala’Vision” has recently won the Golden Yusr Award for Short Film at the Red Sea International Film Festival. Earlier on, the film had received, among other awards, 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.

“Tala’Vision” received a grant from the Jordan Film Fund (JFF) managed by the RFC in 2019. The film is a Jordanian-German co-production produced by Tabi 360 and The Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in co-production with SWR and Jordan Pioneers.

The participation of Jordanian cinema this year was remarkable in important international film festivals: Three Jordanian feature-narrative films were screened at the inaugural edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival: “Farha” written and directed by Darin J. Sallam (World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival), “The Alleys” written and directed by Bassel Ghandour (World Premiere at Locarno International Film Festival) and “Daughters of Abdul-Rahman” written and directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan. “Daughters of Abdul-Rahman” had its premiere at the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. The film’s scenario was developed in 2012 at the Rawi Screenwriters Lab organised and managed by the RFC.

All three films were supported by the Jordan Film Fund managed by the Royal Film Commission — Jordan.