With this honor, the festival concluded nine days filled with film screenings, creative discussions, and cultural exchange, marking a significant artistic event that has established Amman as a promising Arab and international cinematic platform.

Creativity and Artistic Vision The festival was not limited to awarding the best films but also celebrated creativity, artistic vision, and the art of cinematic storytelling that goes beyond the script, in line with this year’s theme: “A World Outside the Script.” The selected films this year highlighted characters living on the margins of society, drawing inspiration from the chaos of reality and its spontaneous aesthetics.

One of the festival’s most prominent moments was honoring the Republic of Ireland as the “Country of Honor,” featuring a special program dedicated to Irish cinema, graced by the presence of renowned Irish director Jim Sheridan, which added a distinctive international dimension to the event.

The closing ceremony also featured the screening of the short film “The Ant That Crossed My Sketchbook” by director Chris Aqouri, before announcing the results of the four competitive categories and distributing awards, which ranged from jury prizes, special mentions, to audience choices.

Awards Highlights

Arab Feature Film Awards:

• Black Iris Award: “The Red Offspring” directed by Lotfi Achour (Tunisia)
• Jury Prize: “To an Unknown Land” directed by Mahdi Fleifel (Palestine)
• Special Mention for Best Screenplay (first time): Tamara Owais for “Simsim” (Jordan)
• Special Mention for Best Lead Actor (first time): Ali Hilali for “The Red Offspring” (Tunisia) jointly with Azzam Ahmed for “Adam’s Hymns” (Iraq)
• Special Mention for Best Lead Actress (first time): Suha Kilani for “Simsim” (Jordan)
• Audience Award: “To an Unknown Land” directed by Mahdi Fleifel (Palestine)

Arab Feature-Length Documentary Awards:

• Black Iris Award: “Your Mother, My Mother” directed by Samira Mouzghibat (Morocco) jointly with “We Are Inside” directed by Farah Qassem (Lebanon)
• Jury Prize: “Tell Them About Us” directed by Rand Beiruty (Jordan)
• Special Mention: “Abu Zaabal 89” directed by Bassam Mortada (Egypt)
• FIPRESCI Award: “Abu Zaabal 89” directed by Bassam Mortada (Egypt)
• Audience Award: “Tell Them About Us” directed by Rand Beiruty (Jordan)

Arab Short Film Awards:

• Black Iris Award: “A Passing Day” directed by Rasha Shaheen (Egypt-Syria)
• Jury Prize: “The Last Days of Summer” directed by Pierre Mazner (Lebanon)
• Special Mention: “Mango” directed by Randa Ali (Egypt)
• Audience Award: “Wan‘am” directed by Musaed Al-Qudefi (Kuwait)

Non-Arab Film Awards:

• Black Iris Award: “A Familiar Touch” directed by Sarah Friedland (USA)
• Jury Prize: “Dog on Trial” directed by Leticia Dosch (Switzerland)
• Audience Award: “Tales from a Magical Garden” directed by David Sukup, Patrick Bach, Leon Weidmar, Jean-Claude Rozec (Czech Republic)

The festival showcased 62 films from 23 countries, including 16 world premieres, alongside panel discussions and workshops attended by a diverse audience of filmmakers and cinema industry professionals worldwide, reflecting the growing international presence of the festival year after year.

The edition concluded with a word of thanks from the organizers to the filmmakers, artists, partners, and audience, reaffirming the festival’s ongoing commitment to human issues and telling stories with new and courageous voices from across the Arab world and beyond.