$4,231 Jordanian Short Makes Student Academy Awards History
A short film made for $4,231 has become only the second Jordanian film to earn recognition at the Student Academy Awards.
'A Subconscious Dive' was shortlisted as a semifinalist in the Alternative/Experimental category at the 2026 awards, the student arm of the Oscars run by the same Academy behind the main prizes, according to Variety. The film was directed by Raghad Albakheet and produced by Danial Salman. The Academy lists "A subconscious dive" from Jordan Cinema Academy in Jordan among its 2026 semifinalists, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The short was produced through the Jordan Cinema Academy. Its production budget was $4,231. Albakheet is now developing her debut feature, while Salman is also moving on to a separate feature project.
To make it, Albakheet trained in scuba diving so she could shoot underwater herself. The underwater sequences were filmed on location in Aqaba in southern Jordan, on the Red Sea coast.
Other portions were shot at the Al Azraq Wetland Reserve in eastern Jordan. The production worked with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, the Jordanian organisation that manages the reserve.
The recognition puts the film in rare company. The only previous Jordanian film to receive Student Academy Awards attention was 'Tala'vision', the short by Murad Abu Eisheh that went on to win a Student Academy Award.
What makes this stand out is the scale of it. A tiny crew, a four-figure budget, dives off Aqaba and shoots in a protected wetland — and a place on an Academy shortlist that few films from the region have reached.
