The 10th Muscat International Film Festival (Miff) will celebrate a decade of Omani cinema with 115 movies, three premieres and two special nights with contemporary social themes echoing women power and children’s rights.
Organised by the Oman Film Society (OFS) and presented by the Ministry of Tourism in association with Oman Airports, Miff will see luminaries of international cinema descend on the Omani capital for the event, which runs from March 26 to 31.
Speaking about the two special nights in the festival, Mohammad Al Kindi, president of OFS and Miff, said: “The nation turns the spotlight on women this month, with a two-day special on March 28-29 to mark the empowerment of women along with children’s rights. Films such as Queen of Katwe, Dear Maya and Pihu will be premiered at Miff.”
Award-winning Hollywood director Mira Nair will be the guest of honour at the Wow Women event and will speak at the occasion on March 28. Her film Queen of Katwe depicts 10-year-old Ugandan girl Phiona’s struggle with poverty, violence and racism, and her eventual discovery of a love for chess. The movie will be screened on the same day at Vox Cinemas.
The women-centric day will also witness the screening of Girl Rising, a documentary about education for girls. This film follows nine girls from Haiti, Nepal, Ethiopia, India, Egypt, Peru, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan on their journeys.
Actress Manisha Koirala
Another film, Dear Maya, starring Indian actress Manisha Koirala, is based on the life of a reclusive woman and will be premiered at Vox Cinemas on March 29. Koirala and the film’s director Sunaina Bhatnagar will also be present at the international premiere.
The Hindi movie Pihu, about a two-year-old girl, will be screened at Vox Cinemas on March 30. “Every child deserves a parent but not every parent deserves a child. The child is the sufferer of the carelessness, negligence and ego of the adults,” said Vinod Kapri, Indian journalist and director of the film, to Indian media.
‘Zainab Hates Snow’.
Internationally renowned children right’s activist Craig Kielburger will be the guest of honour for a special day for children — Live Like A Child — which will be held at Paca auditorium in Seeb. The screening of It Takes A Child, a documentary, will throw light on taking global action against poverty and child labour. Zainab Hates Snow, from Tunisia by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, will also be shown as part of the special day.
The opening and closing nights of the festival, March 26 and 31, will feature global artists such as Swedish-Lebanese singer Maher Zain, Grammy award-winning Japanese flautist Kitaro, world-whistling champion Dutchman Geert Chatrou, Danish-Palestinian percussionist Simona Abdallah, Russian Jaw harpist Olga Uutai, India’s only woman saxophonist S Lavanya, Oman’s well-known Munshid singers Watasimu, popular singer Haitham Mohammad Rafi and Oud artist Ziyad Harbi and band.
Omani and international films will be screened under the Panorama Section, dedicated to short films, for the public on March 27. Among them will be the short film classic, A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune), a 1902 French silent film directed by Georges Melies.
Filmmaker Gassan Masoud.
Escape to Victory, the 1981 British-American film about allied prisoners of war, which stars several top global footballers of the time including Pele, will be shown at the screenings on March 29.
On the confluence of filmmakers, Al Kindi, said: “Filmmakers from across the globe irrespective of cultural disputes, impact of wars and political confinements are participating to mark a new era of filmmaking in Oman.”
Italian action hero Franco Nero, Egyptian Hollywood actor Amr Waked, Syrian actor and filmmaker Gassan Masoud, veteran Egyptian director Ali Badrakhan and a bevy of stars and filmmakers will attend Miff.
Italian star Franco Nero.
A special section called Retrospection will feature tribute screenings of films by Salim Bahwan, the famed Omani actor and filmmaker who passed away in 2017.
On the concluding night of the event, a ceremony will recognise contributions made to the global film industry by honouring several personalities of world cinema, including Dr Abdul Haq Al Muntarsh, Manisha Koirala, Gassan Massoud, Ali Badrakhan, Dawood Hussain, Franco Nero, Mira Nair, Dariush Mehrjui, Fakhriya Bint Khamis Al Ajmi, Amr Waked, Zahra Arafat, Bossi Shalaby and Ateeqa Atrash.
