" Theeb ", a feature film about a Bedouin boy directed by Jordanian-British director Naji Abu Nowar and " A Syrian Love Story ", a documentary about a Syrian refugee couple directed by British director Sean McAllister, have been nominated for the 2016 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs).
The two films received BAFTA nominations in the category of "Outstanding debut by British writer, director or producer" for Nowar and McAllister, as well as for the producers of their films, Rupert Lloyd and Elhum Shakerifar respectively.
"Theeb" has also received a nomination for the "Best film not in the English language" award, which is considered BAFTA's equivalent of the Oscar for best foreign language film, for which the film has been shortlisted this year as well. The BAFTAs will be held on Feb. 14.
Both films, although different in genre and content, deal with topics about the Arab World, feature Arab casts, were shot or partly shot in Arab countries and required extraordinary commitment from their filmmakers.
" Theeb " is a harrowing coming-of-age tale that follows a young Bedouin boy as he embarks on an adventure in the Arabian desert to guide a British officer. It is set at the time of the nationalist Arab uprisings – known as the Arab Revolt – that occurred during World War I.
To prepare for the film, Nowar lived in the Jordanian desert with the Bedouin community that inhabits it for several months to capture the authenticity of the film. Moreover, he chose real-life Bedouin tribesmen to play the roles, transforming them from local talents to professional actors.
" A Syrian Love Story " however, deals with a different and more modern Arab uprising, the Syrian revolution and the chaos that preceded and followed it. The documentary deals with the topic through a deeply personal look at the world of a Syrian couple, whose complicated lives were more or less defined by the troubled events in their country.
It tells the heartbreaking love story of Amer Douad and Raghda Hassan, two activists who fell in love in a Syrian prison where a hole in the wall was their way to communicate. The film starts in Damascus in 2009 when the two are married with three children.
It documents their lives from the time Hassan goes back to prison with Douad struggling to raise them on his own. Eventually the two are forced to flee the country and are granted refugee status in France, where their marriage starts to fall apart.
Like Nowar, McAllister went to extraordinary lengths to complete his film, he himself was briefly imprisoned for filming. Moreover, he filmed the documentary over the course of five years, experiencing on a day-to-day basis the life of the uprooted family as it turned upside down, time and time again.
Both films received numerous awards at international festivals and universal critical acclaim for their authenticity. "Theeb" was acclaimed for its genre-pioneering originality, while "A Syrian Love Story" was praised for its incredibly intimate and humane portrayal of Syrian refugees.