At a meeting with the cast and crew members of the Academy Award-nominated film, attended by Her Majesty Queen Rania, King Abdullah asserted that the film is a Jordanian success story and the latest in several achievements that Jordanians are proud of.

“Not only Jordan, but the entire Middle East is proud of you,” the King told the cast and crew, thanking them for their efforts.

The film succeeded because the people of Wadi Rum participated in and supported it, he noted, calling for benefiting from the feature’s success to boost tourism.

“As we focus on the tourism industry, we should also focus on the film industry, not only in Wadi Rum but also in Wadi Araba,” His Majesty added.

The King expressed full support for success stories by creative Jordanians, calling for using events from Jordanian history in filmmaking.

“Theeb”, a coming-of-age tale set in the Arabian Desert of 1916, is the first Jordanian film to earn an Oscar nomination.

It follows Theeb, a young Bedouin boy, and his brother Hussein as they leave the safety of their tribe to venture on a journey at the dawn of the Great Arab Revolt.

His Majesty spoke with the cast and crew about the prizes and the local, regional and global recognition that the film has gained.