Naji Abu Nowar

Naji Abu Nowar (; born 1981) is a British-Jordanian film director, writer and producer. Best known for his works Death of a Boxer, Till Death (2012) and Theeb (2014) for which he received wide spread acclaim and recognition, including a Best Foreign Language Film nomination at 88th Academy Awards, nomination for Best film not in the English language, and the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 69th British Academy Film Awards. Theeb is the first Jordanian film to receive an Oscar nomination.

Early life and education Abu Nowar was born in Oxford in 1981, As a child, he heard stories from his father about chivalrous and courageous Bedouin warriors, which later influenced his film making. In an interview with The Times''' Kate Maltby, he said: "I’ve always had a sympathy for people caught between different pressures." He used some of the strategic and organizational skills acquired at college during the making of his movie, Theeb.

In 2009, Abu Nowar wrote and directed Death of a Boxer, an eight-minute film that appeared at The Palm Springs International Shortest, The Dubai International Film Festival, the Miami Short Film Festival, and the Franco-Arab Film Festival.

Following the success of Death of a Boxer, Abu Nowar had difficulty launching his next project, due to funding issues and ideas that were not strong enough to come to fruition. located in southern Jordan to meet local Bedouins and better understand their folklore in an attempt to portray the people and their way of life authentically.

The film, released in 2014, received widespread acclaim and recognition for its success.

In February 2015, Abu Nowar was among the honorees who were invited by King Abdullah and Queen Rania to Al Husseiniya Palace, for an event in which the attendees were praised for their entrepreneurship and good citizenship.

Abu Nowar has plans for future films and hopes to feature Bedouin women, which was previously frowned upon by the Bedouin community.

Work Death of a Boxer (2009) Theeb'' (2014)

Awards

He received following awards and nominations for films

For Theeb 2014: Venice Film Festival Venice Horizons Award (Best Director) – won Venice Horizons Award (Best Film) – nom 2014: Tokyo Filmex Grand Prize – nom 2014: London Film Festival Sutherland Award (First Feature Competition) – nom 2014: Camerimage Best Directorial Debut – won 2014: Cairo International Film Festival Jury Prize for Best Cinematography and Artistic Direction – won 2014: Abu Dhabi Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize (Best Narrative Film) – won New Horizons Competition (Best Film from the Arab World) – won Black Pearl Award (New Horizons Competition) – nom 2015: Palm Springs International Film Festival New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize – nom 2015: Munich Film Festival CineVision Award (Best Film By An Emerging Director) – nom 2015: Glasgow Film Festival Audience Award – nom 2015: Fribourg International Film Festival Grand Pix – nom 2015: FEST International Film Festival Belgrade Victor (Best Film) – won Audience Award (Best Script) – won 2015: Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema Best Film (International Competition) – nom 2016: BAFTA Awards Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer – won Best Film Not in the English Language – nom 2016: Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film – nom

For Death of a Boxer 2009: Dubai International Film Festival Muhr Arab Award – (Short) – nom