Jordanian Documentary ‘Concrete Land’ Wins at London Film Festival

Jordanian documentary “Concrete Land,” the directorial debut of Asmahan Bkerat, has won one of the four main awards at the 70th London Film Festival.

The film’s success formed part of a surprising outcome for documentary cinema, with nonfiction works taking two of the festival’s four principal prizes.

The other documentary winner was “Imperium” by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, which claimed the festival’s official competition award. The film relies entirely on archival material about the former Soviet Union, without reconstructing the events it depicts.

For Bkerat, the award marks festival recognition for her first film as a director, placing her Jordanian documentary alongside Loznitsa’s archival work among the edition’s main winners.