MES Film Series presents: Captain Abu Raed

Captain Abu Raed (2007) Directed by Amin Matalga, 104 minutes Jordanian director/screenwriter Amin Matalqa tells this tale of an elderly airline janitor mistaken for a pilot by the children of his neighborhood. Abu Raed always wanted to see the world, yet the closest he ever got was talking to travelers as they walked through the airport and reading books about faraway places. The discarded captain's hat he sports gives the local kids the impression that Abu Raed was once a pilot, and seeing the grim realities that surround them all inspires him to play to their assumptions and try to make a difference in their lives. The first-ever independent film to come out of Jordan, Captain Abu Raed earned the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.