Jordanian director Zaid Abu Hamdan is set to launch the follow up to his female empowerment drama “Daughters of Abdulrahman,” the gritty crime thriller “Boomah,” set to soon bow from the Shanghai International Film Festival that is becoming an increasingly prominent launching pad for Arab cinema.
Shot in Jordan during an especially challenging period for the war-torn region, “Boomah” segues from Hamdan’s dramedy about four semi-estranged sisters who join forces to contend with the Jordanian patriarchy with what is being described in promotional materials as “a raw, emotionally charged crime thriller about survival, motherhood and the people society leaves behind” that captures a side of Jordan rarely seen on screen.
With “Boomah” the Jordanian helmer continues to explore the female empowerment space with this tale of a notorious and knife-savvy female gang member, the film’s titular character, who becomes embroiled in a power struggle between street thugs and religious extremists while battling the traumas of her harrowing orphaned past.
Leading “Boomah” is Jordanian actress Rakeen Saad, known for her central roles in Netflix hit original series “AlRawabi School for Girls” and “The Giza Killer” and who also has a part in Terrence Malick’s long-gestating biblical drama “The Way of the Wind.” Saad is joined by Majd Eid (“Once Upon a Time in Gaza”), Joanna Arida (“AlRawabi School for Girls”), and Hanan Hilo (“Daughters of Abdulrahman”).
