Jinn, the first Arabic original series on Netflix, launched at a red carpet event in Amman on Wednesday evening. The five-part series is now available to watch on the streaming service in 190 countries in seven languages, including French, Hindi and Portuguese. It is also subtitled in a further 20 languages.

The cast of Jinn, a smart supernatural thriller filmed in Amman and Petra, arrived on the red carpet at the Bisharat Golf Club in Amman, where they were greeted by friends, family – and no shortage of photographers.

The series was written by brothers Elan and Rajeev Dassani and is a classic high-school fright-fest, packed with jump-scares and teenage angst. It stars Salma Malhas as Mira, a teenager who accidentally summons a spirit – or jinn – from a cave during a school trip to Petra. When one of Mira’s classmates falls to his death soon after, the students realise that Mira has unleashed something that threatens to pick each of them off one by one.

In an interview with The National, Jinn director Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya said he was drawn to the show because of “the level of authenticity Netflix was looking for”.

He added that it was a joy to have characters in the script that “are so honest, so young, so fresh, and so dynamic. They are not trying to fake the emotions. They are simply living the lives of a teenager in the Arab world. This is something we have rarely seen in film and television from the region.”

Many of the cast are first-time actors, who only auditioned for parts when news of the upcoming series spread the schools and universities of Jordan.

“I remember reading about it and I told my family that I have to be a part of this,” said Sultan Alkhail, who plays Yassin, a troubled teenager, in Jinn. “This is the first major thing that I have done.”

Malhas auditioned after her drama teacher at school put her forward. “We had 20 call-backs maybe,” she said. “It was very intense, a very long process.”

Speaking before the first two episodes of Jinn were screened to the guests, Kelly Luegenbiehl, VP of i nternational o riginals at Netflix said: “I tell you those are going to be international stars, so take their autographs because after tomorrow, they won’t even recognise you.”

Princess Rym al-Ali, wife of Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan, also attended the event.

Jinn is available on Netflix now