Nayfeh on 'Jo of Montreal' Family Film Pushback — SkimNews
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- 'Jo of Montreal' is Nayfeh's new family film starring Hamzah Baareh as Yusuf, a 12-year-old stranded in Shoubak, Jordan, who bonds with shepherd Kamel El Basha and discovers the crusader-era Montreal castle.
- Nayfeh faced pushback from juries, decision makers and friends who told him 'I'm a Palestinian filmmaker. I should only make films about Palestine' when pitching his non-political follow-up to '200 Meters.'
- The production, greenlit during Israel's war on Gaza, was then disrupted by the US war against Iran — losing a German production designer and a Holland-based actor who both declined to travel.
- Filming shifted to Saudi Arabia by car after flights were grounded, with skyrocketing insurance costs complicating crew hiring and transport of German equipment to Jordan.
- Baareh was cast after Nayfeh's wife spotted the boy playing basketball near their home following a Bluetooth-speaker standoff; the director says the 12-year-old 'exceeded' expectations.
- Producer Bassam Alasad of CMS said Arab audiences watch Korean, Spanish and Mexican films but rarely get 'something different from our own filmmakers,' pushing back against jury expectations of 'struggle or abuse' stories.
Why it matters: Nayfeh's case shows how Arab and West Asian filmmakers face gatekeeping pressure — even from their own juries and peers — to only produce stories of conflict. His deliberate pivot to a co-produced family film (CMS in Dubai, Tabi360 and Phoenix Production Services in Amman, Reynard Films in Germany) is a concrete bet that feel-good Middle Eastern stories can find an audience beyond the festival circuit.
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