Netflix to air Jordanian film ‘Farha’

AMMAN — “Farha”, a Jordanian survival thriller directed by Darin J. Sallam, will be available on Netflix starting Thursday. اضافة اعلان

The narrative film, which tells the story Palestinian girl whose village comes under attack by Israeli occupation forces in 1948, is Jordan’s official Oscars entry to the 95th Academy Awards International Feature Film category for 2023.

pic.twitter.com/9cqxfp8vsC

— FARHA film (@FarhaFilm) December 3, 2022

Netflix’s decision to air the film has stirred anger from Israeli officials, namely Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s right-wing finance minister.

Lieberman suggested withdrawing state funding from a theatre in Jaffa that plans to show the film.

1/6 Zionists are having a meltdown because of "Farha" - a film that depicts the story of a Palestinian girl during the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The girl witnesses the depopulation of her village & the murder of a Palestinian family including children.

— Dr. Yara Hawari د. يارا هواري (@yarahawari) December 4, 2022

“It’s crazy that Netflix decided to stream a movie whose whole purpose is to create a false pretense and incite against Israeli soldiers,” Lieberman said in a statement carried by AFP.  

Sallam, the film’s director, however, stated that the film is based on a true story.

The film was featured in the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and according to the festival’s website, Sallam has an MFA from the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by FARHA film - فرحة (@farha.film)

“Farha” is not the first film to stir controversy over Israeli atrocities in 1948, when more than 760,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes.


Most recently, Israeli director Alon Schwarz faced widespread backlash over his 2022 documentary on the massacre of Palestinians in Tantura, a coastal Mediterranean village in the northwest of what is now Israel.


Read more National news
Jordan News