EXCLUSIVE: Ameen Nayfeh, the Palestinian director of Venice 2020 title 200 Meters, has begun shooting drama Jo Of Montreal in Jordan ahead of filming in Saudi Arabia.
Set around the historic Montreal Castle in the mountains of Al-Shoubak, filming kicked off in southern Jordan on July 1, with production set to continue across Al-Shoubak and AlUla in Saudi Arabia.
The story follows Yusuf, a 12-year-old boy raised abroad, who reluctantly spends the summer in his father’s ancestral village. As he develops an unexpected friendship with a retired teacher-turned-shepherd, he gradually discovers the history, stories and people that shape the place, finding a new sense of belonging.
Newcomer Hamza Baara leads the cast as Yusuf, opposite acclaimed Palestinian actor Kamel Al Basha as the teacher. The cast also includes Reem Talhami, Firas Taybeh, Hayat Abu Samra, Ishaq Elias, Ahmad Maaliki and Yazan Eid.
”Jo Of Montreal is a story of a boy who arrives in a place he does not understand, only to discover that it holds a part of him,” Nayfeh told Screen. “I wanted to make a film for the young generation – one that speaks to their sense of curiosity, loneliness and imagination, without talking down to them.”
The Jordan-Saudi-German co-production is produced by Bassam Alasad’s Creative Media Solutions and CMS Ventures, and co-produced by Alaa Alasad of Jordan’s Tabi360, Georg Neubert of Germany’s Reynard Films and Peter Williams from Jordan’s The Phoenix Production Services. Executive producers are Ghassan Alasad, Khalid Haddad and Johnny Dabeet.
Producer Bassam Alasad said the productions two main locations are integral to the identity of the film . “Al-Shoubak carries the Jordanian memory and emotional roots of the story, while AlUla expands its visual and regional horizon. Together, they give the film a sense of place, history and scale that reflects the kind of Arab stories we want to bring to audiences everywhere.”
The production is supported by the Red Sea Film Fund, The Royal Film Commission – Jordan, Film AlUla, and Hessen Film & Medien.
It marks Neyfeh’s second feature after his award-winning debut 200 Meters, which premiered in Giornate degli Autori at the Venice Film Festival in 2020.
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