The 'Captain Abu Ra'ed' Film Begins Global Launch - Rana Sultan Wins Best Actress Award at the Newport Film Festival

Broadcaster Rana Sultan won the prize for Best Actress at the 9th Newport Film Festival which was recently held in the state of California, USA.  She was awarded the prize for her role in the Jordanian cinematic production 'Captain Abu Ra'ed'.

The Newport Film Festival chose to end its activities with a showing of 'Captain Abu Ra'ed', which had been eagerly awaited by the audience and judging panel who were keen to see the latest Jordanian film offering, particularly as Jordan had been absent from the cinema scene for nearly 20 years. The film won Best Actress (Rana Sultan) Best Actor, with the latter award going to Jordanian actor Nadim Sawalha for his role as the title character.

Rana Sultan's takes on the role of Noor in the film, a airline pilot from a rich family. A deep friendship develops between Noor and Captain Abu Ra'ed which forms the basis of the film's plot. Ms. Sultan is joined by an array of distinguished Jordanian artists, including the veteran Nadim Sawalha as Captain Abu Ra'ed and Director/Screenwriter Ameen Matalqa.

Ms. Sultan expressed her delight at winning the prize for Best Actress, saying, " It was a huge surprise when they called me from California and told me I had won the festival's prize for Best Actress. It is a great honour that I did not expect to come from my first acting experience."

She added, "For 'Captain Abu Ra'ed' to win all these awards confirms its importance as a cinematic work. It demonstrates that Jordan really does have a lot of hidden talent and has the ability to produce world class cinematic output'.

It is worth noting that the Newport Film Festival is an international film festival held for the 9th consecutive year since it began in 1999.  The festival showcased over 360 films from 37 countries and was attended by around 42000 people.

Captain Abu Ra'ed has been awarded many international prizes after being screened in Jordanian cinemas for nearly two and a half months.  The film participated in the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, USA and won the audience's choice award for Best Film. Actor Nadim Sawalha also won the prize for Best Actor at the Dubai Film Festival.  The film is due to be released in Arab countries over the next few months and then in Europe and the USA.