A world unscripted: Irish cinema honoured at Amman Film Festival
Young Arab filmmakers gathered at the Amman International Film Festival (AIFF) 2025, ready to present their work to a wider audience and learn from established industry professionals through masterclasses, workshops, panels and discussions.
The festival celebrated over 60 films from 23 countries, featuring 16 world premieres of films, all under this year’s theme of “A World Unscripted” which looked to showcase stories of injustice and resilience. For the first time since the inception of the festival, a “Country of Honour” was introduced, and Ireland was chosen in acknowledgement of the wealth of cinematic story-telling the country has produced on these very themes.
Sharing Irish stories on a global stage
Few writers have captured the heart of Ireland and themes of injustice and resilience quite like six-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Jim Sheridan. Raised in inner city Dublin, Sheridan’s storytelling has always been influenced by the Irish people and places that made him who he is today.
Across a 40-year career, the revered writer and director of critically acclaimed debut feature film My Left Foot (1989), has encapsulated the struggle, humour and sense of community that uniquely defines Irish life time and time again.
Sheridan travelled to Amman where he was hosted as the Guest of Honour and spoke at the Grand Opening Ceremony. There, he welcomed enthusiastic young moviemakers, a demographic whose drive in the world of cinema he has always been eager to foster. He was a key figure in the establishment of film supports within the Project Arts Centre in Dublin, a resource that supports diverse artists as they create and showcase work that is reflective of contemporary Irish life.
You know the way that when you have a camera, you become invisible. It makes you kind of not present in the event you are witnessing. So it’s both a retreat and a recording at the same time.
Students, cinephiles, and the emerging generation of directors and writers alike attended a talk he gave on his illustrious career and offered advice on the ever-evolving digital market.
Cultural bridge through storytelling
Two of his most celebrated works, My Left Foot and In The Name Of The Father, were amongst the five Irish films shown that each have a distinctive lens on Irish history, identity and culture.
By honouring Ireland, a human and cinematic bridge is built between Arab and Irish narratives. Both carry old wounds, but also tales of love and success from which powerful and deeply humane films emerge.
Each of the films were chosen to tell a piece of Ireland’s story, from the quiet endurance of its people to the unwavering fight for Irish freedom.
My Left Foot (1989)
Jim Sheridan’s first film, a delicate biography of artist Christy Brown (portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis) based on Brown’s autobiography, first published in 1954.
Christy Brown is a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family in the 1930s, experiencing significant paralysis. With the help and dedicated resolve of his mother (portrayed by Irish actress, Brenda Fricker) to help her son express himself, Christy learns how to compose paintings, poems and other prose with the only limb he can gain charge over, his left foot.
In The Name of the Father (1993)
This Jim Sheridan film tells the story of Gerry Conlon, a young man from 1970s Belfast who was wrongfully convicted in the infamous Guilford Four case for bombings in England. His coerced confession leads to the imprisonment of his father as well.
This story is one of resilience, family, and hope as they embark on a 15-year fight to clear their names and for freedom in a flawed justice system.
The film went on to earn seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Director.
Michael Collins (1996)
Liam Neeson stars in this historic retelling of Michael Collins’ fight alongside the Irish Republican Army for Irish Independence from Britain.
The film, directed by Neil Jordan, is not just the story of a revolutionary hero, it explores the themes of loyalty and loss in the liberation of the Irish State.
This film speaks to themes of sacrifice, resilience and seeking justice in times of significant division.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006)
Ken Loach’s The Wind that Shakes the Barley provides a profoundly human portrayal of the Irish struggle for independence.
Against the backdrop of the War of Independence and a looming civil war, the film follows the story of two brothers (played by Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney) whose shared dream for Irish independence is torn apart by the harsh realities of the conflict.
A story of the fortitude of the ordinary person in extraordinary times, told with a heart-breaking honesty about the deep scars a fight for justice often leaves behind.
Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
A quiet friendship on an island off the West Coast of Ireland comes to an abrupt end, and a haunting tale unravels when Pádraic (Colin Farrell) refuses to accept this loss.
Martin McDonagh paints a tender yet unsettling portrait of loneliness and pride in the strained friendship between Pádraic and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) against the background of civil conflict.
The film was widely celebrated for its unique ability to capture the slow discomfort in division and stubbornness that captures the universal ache of being human.
All five films were screened in English, with both Arabic and English subtitles, allowing large and diverse audiences to connect with what was on the screen. Jordanians that had a curiosity about Ireland and Irish cinema attended, alongside members of the Irish community living in Jordan, the wider expatriate network, and fellow filmmakers from across the region. Together they experienced the emotional bridge between the rich Arab and Irish storytelling cultures.
About the festival
The local film industry in Jordan has flourished in recent years, with Arab storytellers leaning into the medium as a new means to channel the talent that is growing in global acclaim.
The Amman International Film Festival aims to generate buzz and enthusiasm around fresh, high quality film without attaching importance to box office performance.
Decorated former journalist, H.R.H. Princess Rym Ali founded the Jordan Media Institute and the Executive Commissioner at the Royal Film Commission when she recognised a need to foster the excellence of film and media education and production in Jordan. Having co-founded the AIFF, she has assumed the role of Festival President to share in her devotion to cinema, particularly in its more diverse and eclectic forms.
The sixth edition of the AIFF took place in Jordan’s capital from 2-10 July 2025 and will return in July 2026.