Captain Abu Raed on AllMovie

Jordanian director/screenwriter Amin Matalqa tells this tale of an elderly airline janitor mistaken for a pilot by the children of his neighborhood who does his best to inject a little imagination into their bleak reality. 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 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 a much-coveted spot in the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.