How we filmed our Bedouin western in the heat of the desert
How many bottles of water do you need for a five-week shoot in the desert? And what should the crew do when a sandstorm hits? Go behind the scenes of the new British-Jordanian epic, Theeb.
5 August 2015
In 2012, Anglo-Jordanian director Naji Abu Nowar and British producer Rupert Lloyd moved to Wadi Rum to make their Bedouin western, Theeb [Wolf], with the last settled Bedouin tribe in Jordan. This was to be their home for a year. Cast exclusively from within the community – with the exception of Jack Fox – and with many of the props built by the women of the Howeitat tribe, Theeb offers an authentic Bedouin experience. “The Bedouin are not the subjects of the film but the co-authors,” Nowar is eager to stress.
After weathering sandstorms, flash floods, soaring temperatures, and a number of hospitalisations, Theeb premiered at the 71st Venice Film Festival in 2014 to a 10-minute standing ovation and ended with Abu Nowar taking home the best director Lion (Orizzonti). Take a look behind the scenes of what Variety describe as “a classic adventure film of the best kind”.
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