The Arab Film Festival kicks off in DC today featuring an eclectic mix of Arab movies from Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco among others. After reading the festival’s schedule I could not help but get a bit annoyed by the lack of Jordanian entries. What Jordan is contributing to the festival appears to be an 8 minute short film by Jordanian director Shereen Abdul-Baki. However, this short movie is listed as an American production, so I’m assuming it was made in the States. So in a nutshell, the word Jordan doesn’t appear anywhere in the schedule.

I’m aware that the Jordanian movie scene is still in its infancy, but still — deep down inside — I was hoping to see a full-fledged Jordanian contribution. I’m optimistic, though, as I know the efforts of some talented Jordanians like Ameen and Laith will soon pay off. We should also take our hats off to the Royal Film Commission for creating a movie scene in the Kingdom.

You never know, maybe we’ll find a Jordanian contribution in next year’s festival! I remain optimistic.