The Oscars and beyond

To our Dear Captain Abu Raed family and friends,

The short list of Oscar contenders for Best Foreign Film was announced today, and unfortunately, after all the buzz and the hype, Captain Abu Raed got overlooked, as did Italy's much hyped Gomorra. How this happened, none of us can explain or make sense of it, but it is what it is, and there's nothing more that we can do as far as the Oscars go. It would've been nice to get nominated, but we didn't.

The good news is that after winning 24 awards and playing in some 35 countries at festivals around the world, the festival phase is coming to a close with Palm Springs and Tahran next month. And it is this week that the film's official Europe theatrical release launches with the opening in the Netherlands on Jan 8, then Spain and Germany on March 12. Our US release is just around the corner, due after the Oscars. 2008 was the year of the festivals, 2009 will be the year of the actual release of the film. We're not done yet ladies and gentlemen.

Looking at how far we've come, I would like to stop for a second and tell you Thank you. Thank you for all your support and hard work in the different steps along this journey. I've learned so much and I promise to carry what I've learned from this experience to benefit the next one. So while today came with disappointing news, it did make me reflect on this little miracle we all gave birth to together, a movie that will transcend the Oscars and today's headlines for decades and decades. We've etched a little piece of art into the timeline of cinema history. Captain Abu Raed will always be that first Jordanian movie that traveled the world. So thank you.

Now, we have a theatrical release to attend to, and the next phase of the journey has just begun. We still have a long fun road ahead.