'A Subconscious Dive' Duo Prep Debut Features — SkimNews
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- Raghad Albakheet (director) and producer Danial Salman made the Student Academy Awards semifinalist list with their short "A Subconscious Dive" in the Alternative/Experimental category — only the second Jordanian film in history to earn that recognition, after Murad Abu Eisheh's "Tala'vision."
- Produced through the Jordan Cinema Academy on a $4,231 budget, the short features underwater sequences filmed in Aqaba and additional footage at the Al Azraq Wetland Reserve, with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature assisting the production.
- Albakheet is developing her debut feature "Ice Cream Truck" with producer Ahmad Alkhlaifat — described as the narrative continuation of "A Subconscious Dive," exploring the subconscious mind across chapters of life; the second draft was recently completed and the film is planned to shoot across Jordan and the UAE.
- Salman premiered his own short "Acceptance" at the Amman Film Festival in July and is developing two new projects: debut feature "The Memory of You," inspired by his grandfather's death and exploring inheritance conflicts, Alzheimer's, and memory; plus short "What Remains," which tackles honor killings and how their consequences are inherited across generations, set to shoot next year.
- Both filmmakers are part of the first cohort of the Jordan Cinema Academy program, with Salman calling the recognition a meaningful milestone for both the academy and the Royal Film Commission.
Why it matters: Both filmmakers' Student Academy semifinalist success positions them for co-production funding — Albakheet's "Ice Cream Truck" (mid-development, second draft complete, planned Jordan/UAE shoot) and Salman's "The Memory of You" both tackle culturally specific themes — women's subconscious, family inheritance, Alzheimer's — while explicitly aiming for international audiences, suggesting Jordanian cinema is building a development pipeline beyond one-off successes.
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