Jordanian filmmaker Amin Matalqa spent more than half of his life growing up in Ohio. After a successful business career in the telecommunications industry, he decided to start over again by moving to Los Angeles. There, he started making short films while writing feature screenplays and attending the Directing MFA program at the American Film Institute. After writing and directing 25 shorts in three years, Amin assembled a cast and crew of over 200 people to make his first feature film, "Captain Abu Raed," which is showing this week at the Traverse City Film Festival. We spoke to Amin about the idea behind "Captain Abu Raed," the importance of filmmaking to the culture of Jordan, and what projects he's working on next.

Amin Matalqa

Traverse City Film Festival: If you could, start by sharing some of the background of how "Captain Abu Raed" came into existence. How did you make the leap from the business world to short films, then to directing your first feature? Where did the idea for this particular movie come from?

Amin Matalqa: It all started when [executive producer] David Pritchard suggested writing a Jordanian film with universal appeal. Something that Charlie Chaplin would want to be in if he were alive today. No politics, no religion, just a movie that can move people. I had just come back from Jordan, where the Royal Film Commission had a screening of a dozen of my short films for a very enthusiastic audience. So when David made that suggestion, the stars were lining up. My intention was always to make American films, but here was an opportunity to show the Arab world to a world-wide audience in a new light. We're all tired of these silly stereotypes of Arabs as camel-herding, towel-headed terrorists.

I had just quit my telecommunications career after getting acceptance to the American Film Institute. So I spent that summer of 2005 writing the first draft, and then my two years at AFI working on the consequent 30 rewrites, trying to arrive at a perfect blend of comedy and drama while developing the cast and crew in Jordan any opportunity I had to travel there. Slowly but surely, the right people become involved and Nadim Sawalha graciously accepted the role of Abu Raed, and before we knew it, my mother had gathered a very enthusiastic group of Jordanian investors to fund the film, and our ship was ready to sail. It felt like the stars had truly lined up for us to make a special film where everyone poured their heart into the work and checked their ego out at the door. This was a labor of love in every sense of the word.

TCFF: "Captain Abu Raed" has received significant attention for being the first 'independent' Jordanian feature and the birth of real cinema in Jordan. For American audiences who may not understand Jordan's cultural climate of the last 50 years, can you talk about why this is such a notable film there? Why has it been so difficult to get movies made in Jordan until now?

AM: Jordan has always been conservative on the arts. But in 2003, King Abdullah decided to form the Royal Film Commission to encourage foreign films to shoot in Jordan, as well as to empower local Jordanians to make movies. The RFC got me excited about filming in Jordan. They took my short films seriously and encouraged me to make a full feature in Amman. They helped with logistics and locations as well when we went into production. But it also took a script that everyone believed in and a team of committed individuals to prove to our investors that we were going to make a really special movie.

It amazes me that there's never been a cinema industry in Jordan, but at least now it's begun. Young Jordanians have witnessed the success of the film and feel encouraged to pursue a career in film. There are several film schools opening in Jordan now, and I really believe it is an unstoppable force now. The power of storytelling is universal. We just need a few good Jordanians to tell their stories to the world from their point of view. It will take this kind of representation to erase stereotypes.

TCFF: Which themes of the movie do you think are universal, that are relatable to audiences no matter where they're from? Which do you think are uniquely Jordanian, or that have something to say specifically about Jordan that outsiders might miss or overlook?

AM: The themes of love, friendship, forgiveness, sacrifice, heroism and child abuse are all universal. You can find them in every corner of the world. Some of the humor was Jordanian, but I was very happy to see American audiences laughing at all the right jokes. I guess I don't know if I'm more Jordanian or American. I've been in the US for almost 20 years now, so I'm sure my quirky sensibility comes from feeling trapped in suburban Columbus, Ohio for too long before moving to LA.

TCFF: There is considerable buzz on the festival circuit that "Captain Abu Raed" could be nominated for an Oscar next year. Can you talk about the personal journey you've gone through trying to get this film off the ground in Jordan, to now winning festival awards and even hearing talk of an Academy Award? Has anything surprised or move you about the way American audiences have responded to the film?

AM: The journey has been extremely satisfying. From the hundreds of hours I spent at the Starbucks on Sunset and La Brea by Chaplin's studio, sitting alone imagining the world of this story, to the development and production of the film… all the people you meet, the friends you make, the satisfying feeling of collaborating on a film, to the actual shoot, the creative process of enhancing the script using the other elements of filmmaking (performance, cinematography, production design, editing, sound and music). Nothing can be more satisfying than seeing an idea that was once just a thought turn into a full feature film, and then celebrating it with audiences around the world.

With all the festivals I've gone to since completing the film, I have made friends from so many different countries. I feel like Abu Raed got his dream to see the world after all. To be nominated for an Oscar would be the highest honor. I grew up following the Oscars as far back as when I was still a boy living in Jordan, salivating at the next Steven Spielberg film.

TCFF: Once the promotion of "Captain Abu Raed" is complete, what's next for you? Any other scripts or projects in the pipeline?

AM: I've just completed my screenplay for an American film set in LA and Paris. It's about immortality and legacy. A drama with lots of laughs and heart about an old man who died alone playing the cello on the street, but is brought back to life through a writer who adopts his dog and discovers the great accomplishments of this unsung hero. I'm very excited about it and am hoping it will be a nice big studio movie, as it jumps back to WWII and 1950s Los Angeles.

"Captain Abu Raed" is playing Friday, August 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Milliken Auditorium and Sunday, August 3 at 12:30 p.m. at the State Theatre. Amin Matalqa will be on hand to introduce his film and to do Q&As afterward with the audience. For more information on the film, and to purchase tickets online, click here.