Captain Abu Raed

Abu Raed is an old and lonely airport janitor who has always yearned to see the world but has never been able to afford travel. One day he finds a thrown-out pilot cap and returns home wearing it on his head. A group of children in his poor neighborhood mistakenly assume that he is a pilot and beg him to share stories of the world outside of Amman and outside of Jordan. Through his imaginary tales, a friendship forms and he discovers the grim realities of the children’s home lives; he takes it upon himself to make a difference. Happy for the company, he transports the children to colorful places around the world through his fictional stories and inspires them to believe in themselves. Meanwhile, Abu Raed’s friendship with Nour, a female pilot, begins to grow as she deals with her own set of pressures originating from life in Amman.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Script: Amin Matalqa

Cinematography: Reinhart Peschke

Editing: Laith Al-Majali

Music: Austin Wintory

Actors: Nadim Sawalha (Abu Raed), Rana Sultan(Nour), Hussein Al-Sous (Murad), Udey Al-Qiddissi (Tareq),Ghandi Saber (Abu Murad), Dina Ra’ad-Yaghnam (Um Murad)

Production: Paper & Pen Films & Gigapix Studios

Producers: Amin Matalqa, David Pritchard, Laith Al-Majali, Kenneth Kokin, Nadine Touka

Costumes: Jamila Allaeddin

Production Design: Gerald Sullivan

Format: Digibeta Color

Production Country: Jordan

Production Year: 2007

Duration: 110

Contact: Fortissimo Films, The NetherlandsT. +31 20 627 3215 F. +31 20 626 1155info@fortissimo.nl www.fortissimofilms.com

Amin Matalqa

He grew up in Jordan until he was 13, then immigrated to the US with his family and spent the next 14 years in Ohio. He studied Business at Ohio State University and, after a successful business career in the telecommunications industry, he decided to start over again by moving to Los Angeles and making short films, while writing feature screenplays and attending the Directing MFA program at the American Film Institute. After writing and directing 25 shorts in three years, he assembled a cast and crew of more than 200 people tomake his first feature film, Captain Abu Raed.