Muscat International Film Festival to host global stars

Muscat: The 10th Muscat International Film Festival (MIFF) will be hosting film stars from around the world, including Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala, award winning Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair, Egyptian actor Amr Waked, Syrian filmmaker Ghassan Massoud, Egyptian director Ali Badrakhan and Italian actor Franco Nero.
The six-day festival will begin on March 26 and continue until the end of the month, mostly at the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) auditorium in Seeb, while other venues will include Vox cinemas, Shatti cinemas, and Qurum City Centre.
The festival, organised by the Oman Film Society (OFS) under the Ministry of Social Development and in association with the Ministry of Tourism and Oman Airports, will feature as many as 115 movies, including short films, documentaries, and feature films.
President of OFS and MIFF Mohammad Al Kindi expressed optimism and excitement over the event: “As the event unfolds over the course of six days from March 26 to 31, in a swirl of excitement, glitz and glamour and also with social themes, Oman’s nascent film industry will get a much-deserved boost as it shares the spotlight.”
Movies with contemporary social themes highlighting women’s power and children’s rights will also be featured. Three movies will be premiered— Dear Maya, Queen of Katwe, and Pihu. Escape to Victory, the 1981 British-American film about allied Second World War prisoners interned in a German prison camp, will also be featured.
The opening and closing ceremonies on March 26 and 3, respectively, will feature red carpet events, with a galaxy of stars, luminaries and intellectuals from the world of cinema.
Swedish-Lebanese singer Maher Zain, Grammy award-winning Japanese flautist Kitaro, world-whistling champion Dutchman Geert Chatrou, Danish-Palestinian percussionist Simona Abdallah, as well as Russian Jaw harpist Olga Uutai, Indian saxophonist S Lavanya and Oman’s well-known Munshid singer Watasimu, popular singer Haitham Mohammed Rafi and Oud artist Ziyad Harbi will be attending the festival.
MIFF will pay a special tribute to pioneering Omani actor and filmmaker Salim Bahwan, who died in 2017. The entry to PACA events (opening, closing, women and children-centric days only) during the film festival is only upon invitation.