Documentary ‘17’ inspires enthusiasm for football

AMMAN — The Jordanian documentary "17" presented a “source of motivation” to practise and follow football, not only for audiences of the film, but also for its director, Widad Shafakoj. 

In 2017, Shafakoj worked with HRH Prince Ali on her film, which follows the Jordanian under-17 women's football team as they prepare for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016.

Before creating this movie, Shafakoj was not fully familiar with the sport.

"This movie was not only a tool of encouragement for my audience members, it encouraged me to maintain my relationship with football,” the Spanish football team fan told The Jordan Times in a recent interview. 

The documentary “17”, named after the age of the players participating in the competition, was screened as part of the Franco-Arab Film Festival at the Royal Film Commission in Amman on Monday. 

Held under the patronage of HRH Princess Rym, in collaboration with the Royal Film Commission (RFC) and the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), the festival, which includes screenings of films from Algeria, Egypt, France, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia, is featuring 11 free movie screenings from June 24 until July 1st. 

Shafakoj, a Jordanian documentary film director, said she utilises films as a way to express her opinions on the society in which she lives.

It took Shafakoj five months of shooting and around seven months of editing to complete the documentary. 

The 73-minute picture reflects the preparation period and challenges the national team members underwent five months ahead of the start of the competition. 

"Some players had to walk to the trainings, while others were trying to strike a balance between school and the tournament,” she added. 

Shafakoj was fascinated by the passion of the players that prompted them to overcome the challenges that stood in their way. 

"Instead of pressure, there was excitement among the players, because they were part of a historic event,” she added. 

The screening of the movie had a positive impact on families, the director noted. 

"It was inspiring for many families, who started encouraging their daughters to take part in this kind of sport,” she said with a smile. 

The movie started will be commercially released at Baraka Mall’s Prime Cinema, which will screen the film for a duration of one week, in cooperation with Arab Media Network (Abu Lughod studios). 

"17" is produced by Muna Fityani and distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions.

The film screened at several prestigious film festivals around the world before being released in its homeland, Jordan, including the Carthage Film Festival  in Tunisia, the 1st El Gouna Film Festival, the Muscat international Film Festival, ALFILM — the Arab Film Festival Berlin, the Arab Women Film Festival in Sweden, the Arab Film Festival in California, USA, Arabisches Film Festival Tübingen in Germany, and the Dubai International Film Festival.