The nine day event showcased filmmakers from both the Arab region and global arena, presenting a diverse array of 53 films hailing from 28 countries.
The Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film revealed the winners of the Black Iris Awards during its fifth edition at the closing ceremony held at the Royal Film Commission – Jordan. The event marked the conclusion of the nine-day festival, which showcased 53 films from 28 countries.
The theme of this year’s festival was ‘Our Stories, Our Narratives.
Competing for the coveted “Black Iris” award, films were judged across four competitive categories: Best Arab Feature Film (seven films), Best Arab Feature Documentary Film (seven films), Best Arab Short Film (16 films) and the Audience Award for the best film in the “Non-Arab Films” section (seven films).
Among the top winners were the Yemeni film The Burdened, the Moroccan film Hounds and the Jordanian-Armenian documentary My Sweet Land. Hounds, directed by Kamal Lazraq, secured the Black Iris Award in the Arab Feature-Length Narrative Competition. The Burdened, directed by Amr Gamal, received the Jury Award in the same category. Additionally, the lead actors of both films were given special mentions, with Hounds’ Abdellatif Masstouri being named Best First-Time Lead Actor and Abeer Mohammed receiving the Best First-Time Lead Actress award.
My Sweet Land was a standout in the documentary competition, earning three awards: the Jury Award, the Audience Award and the Fipresci Award for Arab Feature Documentary Film. In the Arab Feature-Length Documentary Competition, the Lebanese film Q by Jude Cehab won the Black Iris Award.
In the Arab Shorts Competition, two Jordanian films, Our Males and Females by Ahmad Alyaseer and The Woodland by Firas Taybeh, shared the Black Iris Award. The Lebanese film Canary in a Coal Mine by Dwan Kaoukji won the Jury Award, while the Jordanian film Sukoun by Dina Naser received the Audience Award. The Black Iris in the International Films Competition was awarded to the US film The Strangers’ Case by Brandt Andersen.
