MAD Solutions, distributor for the Jordanian film Theeb, announced 3 September the new release date for the film in Iraqi cinemas, postponing it a week from the planned release.

Iraq marks the ninth Arab country to screen Theeb after the UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Palestine, and Egypt at the 36th Cairo International Film Festival.

The film was also released worldwide in the Netherlands, the UK, Switzerland and other countries and is set to premiere in the United States later this year‫.

The adventure film is set in 1916, right before World War I. Directed by Naji Abu Nowar and co-written with Bassel Ghandour, it premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2014, winning Best Director Award.

Theeb is Abu Nowar’s second directorial effort after short film Death of a Boxer (2009), and his first feature film, telling the story of a young Bedouin boy’s coming of age as he learns about trust and betrayal in a treacherous journey through the southern deserts of Jordan. 

Starring Jacir Eid as Theeb, with Hussein Salameh, Hassan Mutlag, along with Marji Audeh, and Jack Fox, the film further includes a cast of Jordanian Bedouin tribesmen, who were given acting workshops for eight months prior to the film’s shooting.

The film has been widely acclaimed by critics and praised by audiences worldwide, winning 13 festival awards, including Best Screenplay Award at the Miami International Film Festival, The New Horizons Best Film from the Arab World and the FIPRESCI Award for Best Narrative Film and the Award for Best Script at the 43rd Belgrade International Film Festival.

Variety magazine also granted the film's director, Abu Nowar, the title Filmmaker of the Year in 2014.
 

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