Annecy First Title from Jordan, ‘Saleem,’ Hits Festival Contrechamp Competition (EXCLUSIVE)

Bending the complexities of the human condition into everyday life in Jordan, director Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha (" Noor") presents his first feature film "Saleem" in competition at the Annecy Animation Festival.

The film marks the first Jordanian selection for the festival and was selected as part of the Contrechamp strand of this year which includes Pablo Berger's quirky friendship study "Robot Dreams", a star of the Cannes Film Festival, as well as 10 additional titles.

Aiming to dismantle preconceived ideas, Madanat Sharaiha appeals to the tradition of storytelling prevalent in its culture to ensure a more comprehensive perspective, transforming the daily routines of the region into vivid, giddy renditions of exuberant and endearing children, their parents, and the captivating terrain of the province.

"We are a culture of storytelling, but our stories don't always make it out into the world "We wanted to tell a different story, not portray the Middle East as romanticized or political or magical. Ours is a modern story that represents culture, a more diverse environment, different from what people normally see," said Madanat Sharaiha at Variety.

Presented as a family adventure, "Saleem" is the story of a refugee who has just lost his father. A young boy holding a mountain of grief, tasked with fitting into a new neighborhood. Trying to temper the great emotions that torment him, he quickly makes friends and the group is quickly distracted by an intriguing antics.

Working with psychologists to ensure the accurate portrayal of childhood distress in film, Madanat Sharaiha relays "We didn't want to tell the story of a child from an adult point of view, but from what children feel and experience, in their innocence, their strength and also their weakness".

Produced by award-winning Jordanian producer Shadi Sharaiha ("Abu Sanad's Family"), husband of Madanat Sharaiha , and their animation and digital content creation company Digitales, in tandem with Nadia Husseini ("Child of War"), the film dissects full-spectrum grief while highlighting the tools available to maneuver it.

Saleem courtesy of Digitales

Using engaging characters to facilitate dialogue about mental health and the burden of displacement, solidarity is placed in the foreground.

"We didn't want to focus just on the trauma itself, but on the journey of recovery and healing, adaptation," relayed Madanat Sharaiha. "There are a lot of refugees in the world. It is very important to be able to understand and not hesitate to ask questions, to be part of their life. There's a lot of stigma, ignorance and stereotyping, we wanted to challenge that in this movie," she added.