Theeb

Not to be confused with Thebe (disambiguation).

Theeb
Film poster
Directed byNaji Abu Nowar
Written by
  • Naji Abu Nowar
  • Bassel Ghandour
Produced by
  • Bassel Ghandour
  • Rupert Lloyd
  • Nadine Toukan
  • Nasser Kalaji
  • Laith Majali
  • Diala Al Raie
  • Yanal Kassay
StarringJacir Eid Al-Hwietat
CinematographyWolfgang Thaler
Edited byRupert Lloyd
Music byJerry Lane
Production
companies
  • Bayt Al Shawareb
  • Noor Pictures
  • Immortal Entertainment
Distributed byMAD Solutions (MENA)
Film Movement (US)
New Wave Films (UK)
Release dates
  • 4 September 2014 (2014-09-04) (Venice)
  • 19 March 2015 (2015-03-19) (UAE)
  • 19 March 2015 (2015-03-19) (Jordan)
  • 14 August 2015 (2015-08-14) (UK)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Jordan
  • United Kingdom
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Qatar
LanguagesHejazi 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]

  1. ^ "Theeb (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Theeb". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Theeb (2015)". The Numbers. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. ^ McCahill, Mike (13 August 2015). "Theeb review – Bedouin boy in the fog of war". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  5. ^ Dowd, Vincent (16 February 2016). "Tongue tied: Foreign film Oscar hard to call". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b Agencies (12 January 2016). "'Theeb' becomes first Jordanian film to receive Oscar nod". The Jordan Times. The Jordan News. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Theeb". Venice Biennale. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  8. ^ Staff writer (7 September 2014). "Jordanian filmmaker wins award for best director at Venice film festival". Al Arabiya News. Al Arabiya. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  9. ^ Ford, Rebecca (14 January 2016). "Oscar Nominations: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Baftas 2016: full list of nominations". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  11. ^ "2016 Film Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director or Producer". BAFTA. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 14 February 2016.