Acclaimed Jordanian film INSHALLAH A BOY extends successful run in Cairo’s Zawya Cinema

release date July 31 2024

Riding the wave of its triumphant first week, the critically acclaimed Jordanian feature film INSHALLAH A BOY, by Amjad Al-Rasheed, has added seven new screenings at Zawya Cinema.

Described as “a gripping social drama about systemic oppression that morphs into a masterful thriller,’’by Variety and “a tense and accomplished directorial debut, by the New York Times, the film is still playing in Jordan and the UAE and is set to hit theaters in Saudi Arabia on August 8th.

Here are the seven new screenings at Zawya:
Wednesday, July 31st at 7 pm
Thursday, August 1st at 4:30 pm
Friday, August 2nd at 9:30 pm
Saturday, August 3rd at 4:30 pm
Monday, August 5th at 2 pm
Tuesday, August 6 at 3 pm and 4:30 pm

Directed by Al-Rasheed and co-written alongside Delphine Agut and Rula Nasser, the film stars Mouna Hawa, Haitham Omari, Salwa Nakkara, Yumna Marwan, Mohammad Al-Jizawi, Islam Al-Awadi, and Celina Rabab'a. It has been hailed by over 30 renowned news outlets, including Screen Daily, the New York Times, Variety, Al Jazeera, and Independent Arabia.

The film's success has been further bolstered by its selection for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival's Critics Week, where it won the Gan Foundation Award and Rail D'Or for Best Feature Film. Since then, INSHALLAH A BOY has graced the stages of over 100 prestigious film festivals, racking up more than 20 awards along the way.

The film follows the tale of Nawal, a recently widowed mother fighting to save her daughter and her home in a society where having a son can be a game-changer.

Additionally, INSHALLAH A BOY was produced by Nasser and Abu Ayyash; co-produced by Youssef Abdelnabi, Raphaël Alexandre, and Nicolas Leprêtre; associate produced by Alaa Karkouti, Maher Diab, and Shahinaz El-Akkad; lensed by Kanamé Onoyama (Everything Everywhere All at Once); edited by the prolific Ahmed Hafez (Moon Knight); sound mixed by Nour Halawani; and scored by Jerry Lane. Also, Zeina Soufan and Nasser Zoubi served as the project's costume and production designers, respectively.

In terms of the larger companies at play, the film was produced by Imaginarium Films and co-produced by Georges Films and Bayt Al-Shawareb. Meanwhile, MAD Distribution and Lagoonie Film Production are in charge of the film’s sales and distribution all over the Arab-speaking world, and Pyramide International is handling international sales and distribution in France.

INSHALLAH A BOY is the second collaboration between Amjad and MAD Solutions, as the company had distributed the short film THE PARROT — which he co-directed —, the film won many international awards, including the Jury Prize at the Twin Cities Arab Film Festivals in Minnesota and the Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden. It had its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2016 and is currently showing on OSN.

A Jordanian director and writer born in 1985, Al-Rasheed holds an MFA in cinematic arts with a focus on directing and editing. In 2016, he was selected by Screen International as one of five Arab Stars of Tomorrow — a list highlighting the up-and-coming young talents of the region. He also attended the Talent Campus during the 57th Berlinale, after which he directed short films that garnered nominations and won prizes at various Arab and international film festivals.

His filmography includes THE PARROT — a short film he co-directed in 2016 that was funded by the Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung — HIT THE ROAD (2011), and BITTER DAYS (2010).

As for Rula Nasser, she is an independent Jordanian producer with extensive experience in different aspects of the production of commercials, TV series, and low-budget films, all the way to big-budget studio films.

She kicked off her career working on projects with the BBC and Discovery and then worked for five years with the Jordanian Royal Film Commission before founding The Imaginarium Films in 2011. Since then the company’s productions have been selected for all manner of prestigious film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlinale, and Toronto.