Netflix has premiered the Jordanian film Inshallah a Boy, directed by Amjad Al Rasheed. This poignant narrative follows the journey of Nawal, a widow striving to defend her home and rights after her husband’s unexpected passing.
Co-written by Amjad Al-Rasheed, Delphine Agut, and Rula Nasser, the film showcases a talented cast including Mouna Hawa, Haitham Omari, Salwa Nakkara, Yumna Marwan, Mohammad Al-Jizawi, Islam Al-Awadi, and Celina Rabab’a.
Inshallah, a Boy has received critical acclaim, highlighted by its wins at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it earned the Gan Foundation Award and the Rail d’Or. Lead actress Mouna Hawa garnered Best Actress accolades at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and the Red Sea International Film Festival. Earlier this year, the film had a successful theatrical release in France. It recently held two sold-out screenings at the Amman International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Audience Award.
The film made history as the first Jordanian feature to be showcased in the Critics’ Week section at the Cannes Film Festival last year. It also won both the Gan Foundation Award and the Rail d’Or for Best Feature Film. Following its festival tour, Inshallah a Boy has screened at over 100 film festivals and accumulated more than 25 awards.
Produced by Imaginarium Films, with co-production from Georges Films and Bayt Al-Shawareb, Inshallah a Boy benefits from MAD Solutions and Lagoonie Film Production’s distribution within the Arab region. At the same time, Pyramide International oversees international sales and distribution in France.
The production team included Nasser and Abu Ayyash as leads, with Youssef Abdelnabi, Raphaël Alexandre, and Nicolas Leprêtre contributing co-producers. Associate producers included Alaa Karkouti, Maher Diab, and Shahinaz El-Akkad. Kanamé Onoyama handled the cinematography, while Ahmed Hafez completed the editing. Nour Halawani did sound mixing, and Jerry Lane composed the film’s score. Zeina Soufan and Nasser Zoubi crafted the costumes and production design, respectively.
This film represents Amjad Al-Rasheed’s second partnership with MAD Solutions, following the marketing of his short film The Parrot, which he co-directed.
Inshallah, a Boy powerfully tells the story of Nawal, a recently widowed woman confronting societal pressures to protect her daughter and home in a culture that heavily values having a son.
The film is also available to stream on OSN.
