First ever ‘Austrian Film Days’ in Amman concludes today

AMMAN — In collaboration with the Austrian embassy, the Royal Film Commission is hosting the first ever “Austrian Film Days” in Amman, running from Monday to Wednesday this week. 

The event is screening one feature film, one documentary and a collection of short films selected by the Royal Film Commission from a larger list presented to them by the Austrian embassy in Amman, Raghida Alsangalawi, an embassy spokesperson, told The Jordan Times.

“The initial list submitted by the embassy tried to offer a variety of very recent movies as well as films from the past years that had proven successful in public showings,” she said. 

The first film, titled “Die Wunderübung”, screened at the RFC’s outdoor amphitheatre on Monday, was an Austrian comedy depicting marital problems between a couple, with the vast majority of scenes taking place within the confines of a single room.

The film, released in 2017, stars Aglaia Szyszkowitz who was nominated for Best Actress Award at the Romy Gala in Austria, according to the RFC website. 

Although this is the first rendition of an Austrian film festival in Amman, the event follows a long history of diplomatic and cultural relations between Austria and the Kingdom, according to an Austrian embassy statement. 

“This year has marked 40 years since the establishment of our embassy in Amman, and next year we will be celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations between our countries. So it is only normal that we are also expanding our cultural diplomacy through more frequent cultural events in Amman, and hopefully in the future all over Jordan,” Alsangalawi said. 

Mohannad Al Bakri, managing director of the RFC, speaking to the crowd on Monday said: “This is our first collaboration with the embassy and we hope that this will continue for the coming years, to give local audiences such a unique opportunity to watch films from a country that has associated for centuries with arts, culture, theatre and literature”. 

The documentary film, “Kinders”, was shown on Tuesday night. Birectors, Arash and Arman T. Riahi, brothers, released the film in 2016 and it has since won a number of awards internationally, according to the RFC website. 

Austrian Ambassador to Jordan Oskar Wüstinger said at the event: “I think it’s a very fascinating film about children and teenagers; with all the challenges of growing up, with difficult, confusing, sometimes funny or bitter lives.”

Wüstinger praised all the selected films and thanked the RFC for this inaugural event, adding that “this year is the Austrian Film Days, so I think next year we should do an Austrian film month!” 

The festival will conclude this Wednesday with a series of short films, part of a cooperation programme between the Austrian Foreign Ministry and the Austrian Film Academy, according to the Austrian embassy. 

The screening is taking place at the Royal Film Commission in Jabal Amman with free admission.