Theeb | |
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Directed by | Naji Abu Nowar |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat |
Cinematography | Wolfgang Thaler |
Edited by | Rupert Lloyd |
Music by | Jerry Lane |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | MAD Solutions (MENA) Film Movement (US) New Wave Films (UK) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 100 minutes[1] |
Countries |
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Languages | Hejazi Arabic English |
Box office | $774,556[2][3] |
Theeb (Arabic: ذيب dhīb [ðiːb], "wolf") is a 2014 internationally co-produced period drama thriller film written and directed by Naji Abu Nowar. It is a coming-of-age story about a Bedouin boy, Theeb, who must survive in the wide-open Wadi Rum desert.[4] The film takes place during the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War, in the wake of the Great Arab Revolt against the ruling Ottoman Empire.[5] The film used non-professional actors from the Bedouin community in southern Jordan, and is considered a "Bedouin Western". It has also been described as a coming-of-age film.[6] Theeb is an international co-production between Jordan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.
The film premiered in the Horizons section at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2014,[7] where Abu Nowar won the award for Best Director.[8] It was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards,[9] making it the first Jordanian nomination ever.[6] At the 69th British Academy Film Awards, Theeb was nominated for Best Film Not in the English Language,[10] where Naji Abu Nowar and Rupert Lloyd won the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.[11]