Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat, right, and his cousin, Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen, in Wadi Rum, a scenic desert area of southern Jordan.

A coming-of-age drama set among Bedouin tribesmen roaming the desert emerged as the first potential Oscar contender produced by Jordan’s nascent film industry.

“Theeb” (Wolf), set in 1916, tells the story of a playful 11-year-old Bedouin boy of the same name who gets caught up in his tribe’s alliance with the British against Ottoman rulers during the era’s Arab Revolt.

Billed as a “Bedouin Western” and an authentic portrayal of Bedouin culture, Theeb is one of nine movies short-listed for best foreign language film nominations. The final five will be announced Thursday.

For the amateur cast from a Bedouin clan and for two young Jordanians writing and directing their first feature film, making Theeb has already been a wild ride, climaxing in the 2014 world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

“They got a 10-minute standing ovation,” said director Naji Abu Nowar, who won for best director in the “Orrizonti” (Horizons) category in Venice.

“The Bedouins, it’s a very macho culture, and you never see anyone cry, even the children … and to see tears coming out of some of their eyes (during the premiere) was a really powerful moment,” he said, speaking from the Palm Springs International Film Festival, a last pre-Oscar opportunity to promote foreign films.

The actors have since resumed their lives in Al-Shakriyeh, a small Bedouin village nestled among striking rock formations rising from the desert floor of Wadi Rum, one of Jordan’s main tourist attractions.

Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat, who played Theeb, is now 15, attends 10th grade and has revised his career plans, from police officer to actor. “I’m a celebrity among my friends now,” said Jacir, who has morphed from a boy with a sweet smile into a guarded teen.

His cousin, Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen, who played Theeb’s brother Hussein, is back to racing camels and working as a tourist guide. Since Theeb, he has appeared in a German TV documentary about Wadi Rum and a Jordanian tourism commercial, and said he would like to do more acting.

Back in Al-Shakriyeh, the Theeb cast members play it cool, despite what appears to be a mild case of Oscar fever. If Theeb is nominated, four of them plan to travel to the awards ceremony in Hollywood — Jacir, his father Eid, cousin Hussein and the film’s villain, played by local resident Hassan Mutlaq Al-Maraiyeh.

Like others in the film industry, they have already thought about what to wear for the big night — black robes, the Bedouin version of formal attire, instead of the beige ones for every day, said Jacir’s father.

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