King acquainted with film commission’s future plans

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday paid a visit to the Royal Film Commission (RFC), a Royal Court statement said.

During the visit, His Majesty was acquainted with the future programmes and plans of the commission and met with the commission's staff and a group of filmmakers.

HRH Prince Ali, president of RFC's board of commissioners, expressed appreciation for His Majesty's support for the commission, whose mission is to develop the Jordanian filmmaking industry and enable it to compete on an international level.

RFC General Manager George David gave a presentation on the commission's achievements, noting that 110 domestic and international films have been produced or filmed in Jordan during the past few years, in addition to dozens of TV productions.

David said that the commission seeks to attract film projects to be filmed in the Kingdom.

He also outlined the RFC’s strategy for the coming years, which is based on supporting cinematic and TV production in the Kingdom, education and training in various cinematic and TV fields for beginners and professional filmmakers from Jordan and the region.

The official highlighted the importance of disseminating the film culture in Jordan, noting that RFC screens movies regularly in Amman and other governorates in cooperation with local and international partners.

During the meeting, the participating filmmakers reflected on their experiences and suggested ways to take Jordanian filmmaking to the next level.

Producer and Director Mahmoud Hammash said that the commission has made the opportunity available for him to receive free-of-charge training on documentaries, which, he said, enabled him to produce a short film in this category.

Hammash noted that he now earns his bread from his career as a movie maker.

For Anwar Shawabkah, a director, the commission has facilitated her work to produce the film “Rusoumat Amman”, by attending various RFC workshops that enabled her to produce another film dubbed “Start Now”, which has been screened in four festivals in the UK.