Idols in The City wins big at Amman International Film Festival

Idols in The City, directed by Karim Ariqat wins big at the Amman International Film Festival.

Last week, Jordanian filmmaker Karim Ariqat won four awards for his film, Idols in The City at the Amman International Film Festival, The show gave away 19 awards for filmmakers of Arab and Jordanian movies.

Idols in The City won the Malmo Arab Film Festival with an invitation to attend the festival in 2024, additionally, an in-kind consultation award for a narrative film in the development stage by Alexandra Viets.

The film which is set to be released in 2025 also received the Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival: In-kind award for a narrative film to participate in Maskoon Fantastic Lab in the Spring of 2024 and The Imaginarium Films: Cash award for a film in development with the value of 5,000 JOD.

The upcoming film is directed by Karim Ariqat and produced by Leen Hamarneh, the film is of the dark comedy genre and tells the story of an old Sheikh whose life turns upside down when he encounters the goddess of death “Manat” while on a trip with his daughter in Petra, Jordan.

Hamarneh previously worked on the 2020 film Chronicles of Her, the 2022 TV series La Unidad, and Al Rawabi School for Girls created by Tima Al Shomali.

Jordanian director, Ariqat is most known for his work on local shows such as Fooq Al Sada, Jalta, and al Mahatta Al-Oula
As well as the viral podcast Alrasool and Tikriti.

The Idols in City will be Ariqat’s first experience in directing a feature narrative, in Karim’s message to Albawaba, he shared: “We hope that our film would highlight the importance of acceptance, tolerance, and love as the building block of all relations in society.”