Darin J. Sallam

Darin J. Sallam (born 1987) is a Jordanian film director and writer of Palestinian roots. She has five award-winning short films to her name, including Still Alive, The Dark Outside and “The Parrot”. Farha (2021) is her debut narrative feature film as director.^[2]

Darin J. Sallam
Sallam speaks about Farha in 2021
Born	1987[1] Kuwait
Education	Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts
Occupation(s)	director, screenwriter

She graduated from the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) with a MFA in Cinematic Arts.^[3]

Farha

Main article: Farha (film)

Sallam's first film as director Farha tells the story of a girl caught in the raids of a Palestinian village during the Nakba.^[4] Sallam started writing the film in 2016 but faced great pushback, including warnings that the film would end her career. Farha is based on the story on a surviving Palestinian woman who fled to Syria and recounted her ordeal to Sallam's mother. The film has been streamed on Netflix generating a condemnation by the Israeli government.^[5]

Filmography

• The Balcony (2008), short film
• Still Alive (2009), short film
• The Dark Outside (2014), short film
• The Parrot (2016), short film
• Farha (2021)^[6]

Awards and nominations

• Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung (2015) for The Parrot (short fiction film)
• Best Youth Feature Film category at the 2022 Asia Pacific Screen Awards for Farha^[7]
• Farha is Jordan's submission in the Best International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards.^[8][9]