EUNIC Jordan showcases Jordanian talent at ‘Heritage Days’ closing event

AMMAN — HRH Princess Rym on Tuesday attended the closing ceremony of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Jordan’s second edition of “Heritage Days”, which featured the screening of four Jordanian-produced short films and the opening of the Belgian Hejaz Wagon "Cinema on Wheels".

The ceremony took place at the Amman Train Station, with the attendance of the ambassadors of Belgium, the EU Delegation and France as well as representatives from the public and private sectors, according to a EUNIC statement. 

The event followed a month of activities organised by EUNIC Jordan aiming to highlight shared cultural heritage and “encourage everyone to become actively involved in the safeguarding of Jordan's heritage for present and future generations”, according to the EU Jordan website.

Conducted within the framework of “supporting creative industries in Jordan”, the first project showcased on Tuesday saw Belgian writer and producer Kevin Meul train young Jordanian students of the Zarqa Film House over the course of three months to produce four fictional short films screened to the audience during the ceremony.

The second project saw the transformation of an old Belgian train wagon used on the historic Amman-Hejaz Railway into a cinema on wheels.

The restored wagon, dating back to the 1950s, will serve as an on-wheels cinema to screen documentary short productions of the railway’s history, said Director of the Amman Railway Station Salah Louzi.

The wagon will be displayed as a permanent artefact at the Hejaz Railway Museum, which is currently being restored in the southern city of Maan. 

The Embassy of Belgium, the Royal Heritage Directorate, the Royal Film Commission and the Jordan Hejaz Railway Corporation inaugurated the two projects.

An exhibition of “rare photos” of the Hejaz Railway was also presented at the event in cooperation with Goethe Institut and the Royal Heritage Directorate, and will remain at the Amman Railway Station, now open to the public, for the period of one month.