Rifqi Assaf’s debut, “The Curve”, took six years in process. The result is a road movie in Jordan, featuring three main characters, who have gone through different societal pressures and who bond together during a journey that becomes a healing trip.

The main protagonist Radi leads a reclusive life in his van, a VW microbus. One night, he hears a shrilling scream in the distance. Despite his fears of others, he challenges himself by switching on the lights. With the seemingly trivial switching on of a light, he finds himself on a road trip that alters his clockwork and disrupts his very private life, as a Syrian young lady Laila and the Lebanese Sami embark on the van. They are both trying to escape their own difficult lives.

Every aspect of the film is intended to say more through saying less. The wide angles and the coloring of “The Curve” are carefully studied in a way that matches the narrative, while highlighting the vibrant space and calmness and setting the pace of the movie as a whole.

Staring Ashraf Barhoum, Hind Hamed and Ashraf Telfah, “The Curve” is a beacon in the new wave of Jordanian cinema, a reflection of the recent social and political changes in the region.

Produced by The Imaginarium Films, Film Klink and Eaux Vives Productions, “The Curve” participated in a number of international festivals including the Seattle International Film Festival, the 13th Dubai International Film Festival and the 6th Arab Film Festival in Jordan.

The Curve’s trivia