Muscat, March 31
The curtains came down on the 10th Muscat International Film Festival on Saturday.
The concluding ceremony was held under the auspices of Dr Abdulmunim bin Mansour al Hasani, Minister of Information.
The six-day fest saw renowned actors, directors and producers being honoured.
A total of 89 short films and documentaries were screened at Lunar Cinemas at Al Araimi Complex.
Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala, Omani actress Fakhriya Khamis, Ateeqa Atrash (Algeria), Zahra Arafat (Bahrain), director Ali Badrakhan and media personality Bossi Shalaby were honoured at the closing ceremony.
The highlight of the festival was a documentary called Cities of Mud, a collaboration between Oman Film Society and Sahara Desert Film Society of Morocco.
“The film depicts similarity between Oman and Morocco such as the old houses, pottery, agriculture and irrigation system, palm trees and folklore. In addition, there are geological factors like the mountains and the desert.
“If you are walking in the desert, it is easy for you to imagine that you are walking in the sands of Bidiya in Oman. Human habits and lifestyle have similarities from religion and praying at community gatherings,” said Mohammed al Kindy, Chairman of Oman Film Society.
“We believe a film festival is not just about artists and film-makers visiting a country. It is a platform for exchanging ideas and coming up with new ideas and projects. We have screened this film at the film festival for the film critics and journalists. We have taken all their reflections into account.”
“And the final edit will be completed in Morocco,” he said.
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