The Azerbaijani government pressured Jordan to withdraw Sareen Hairabedian’s documentary, “My Sweet Land,” as its official entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, Deadline reported.
“Jordan withdrew its submission of ‘My Sweet Land‘ documentary film due to diplomatic pressures. The Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC) remains committed to showcasing and promoting all Jordanian films, including their participation in film festivals,” Jordan’s Royal Film Commission said in a statement confirming the details of a story reported Friday by Deadline.
The award-winning documentary follows 11-year-old Vrej, who dreams of becoming a dentist in his village in Artsakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been at the heart of a violent dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia since the 1980s. Artsakh fought for decades to become a breakaway state, an independence movement that ended with the Azerbaijani offensive of 2023.
The choice of the film by Jordan sparked controversy in Azerbaijan where its sympathetic account of the Armenians displaced by the conflict was viewed as taking an overtly anti-Azerbaijani stance.
Deadline had learned that the Azerbaijani government wrote to Jordan’s Foreign Ministry requesting it reconsider the film’s selection as its Oscar entry, which in turn put pressure on the Jordan’s Royal Film Commission to withdraw the film.
Sources at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences confirmed to Deadline that Jordan withdrew “My Sweet Land” for consideration as Best International Feature Film.
“This is very devastating news for our team that an emotional intimate story of a child’s love for his home and family was banned and silenced. As documentary filmmakers, this censorship compels us more than ever to share My Sweet Land protagonist Vrej’s story, which reflects the experiences of countless children around the world today, who deserve to dream freely without the threat of war and conflict,” Director Sareen Hairabedian and producer Azza Hourani told Deadline exclusively,
“After Jordan withdrew the film as a contender for Best International Feature Film, the Academy told filmmakers they could submit ‘My Sweet Land’ for consideration as Best Documentary Feature, if they followed standard qualification procedures. The filmmaking team has scrambled to arrange a qualifying run in the U.S.,” Deadline reported.
