(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Despite the fact that a small country like Jordan hosts as many refugees as all of Europe, 'a lot of fuss [is made] about it in the Netherlands or in Europe… because we're afraid of 'extremists' [or] 'fundamentalists',' the film's producer, Germen Boelens, said.
'So this film is also about giving awareness to viewers that we should face this crisis from a humanitarian perspective, not from the perspective of keeping our home safe. We should invite people who need our help,' he told The Jordan Times during a recent visit to the film set.
Dutch society has other fears regarding refugees, Boelens explained, especially in terms of the steady transformation of the Netherlands into a multicultural, multiethnic country.
'The Dutch are of course afraid of that, because they have to change as well.... New people are arriving in the Netherlands, giving new ways to cultural expression, so we create a new society. But that's what we need to do,' the producer said.
With additional filming in Madaba and Jabal Amman, the movie will tell the story of two Dutch-Moroccan brothers who come to Jordan to look for their other brother, who was working in Azraq camp, but went to Syria to avenge his Syrian girlfriend who was killed by government forces.
'It's also a movie about the Muslim minority in the Netherlands,' the producer explained.
'Because nowadays, with all we hear of Muslims in the world and also in the Netherlands, people... [view] Dutch Muslims differently than before… marginalising the Muslim minority,' Boelens said.
Surrounded by day-to-day struggles in the camp, the producer described filming there as 'intense', giving a human face to what is written on paper.
'Our main characters... are very impressed by what they meet here,' the filmmaker said.
He voiced hope that his chosen medium of film will provide a 'more intense way of getting aware of what's going on here than to read it in [a] newspaper or see it on television'.
The lead actor, Achmed Akkabi, is like his character, of Dutch-Moroccan origins. He said the film is about more than war and its tragedies, but is also a complicated family story.
'It's also about two brothers who don't get along at all at the beginning. They're like two totally different versions; they don't mix together very well.' the actor said.
'So it's about more than refugees and the war in Syria; it's about love between brothers and love between family,' Akkabi explained.
Filming in Jordan has been an enjoyable experience for the actor, who said he was impressed by the 'stunning' locations and 'very professional' crew and climate.
As well as the camp, director Hanro Smitsman also shot scenes in Jabal Amman, the Dead Sea and Madaba, chosen to stand in for the countryside of Daraa, Syria, where part of the story takes place.
The filmmakers rented equipment from the Jordanian army through the Royal Film Commission (RFC), which also procured filming permits, permits to enter the camp and also connected the Dutch filmmakers with local production companies and crew.
Promoting the Kingdom as a filming location and offering employment opportunities for Jordanians in the industry are significant goals for the RFC in attracting international film productions to the country, according to the commission, which organised the media tour.
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