An image of "Crow Man" by the Lebanese Yohan Abdelnour. (Credit: the Maskoon festival)
From Oct. 1 to 5, Metropolis in Beirut will host the seventh edition of the Maskoon festival, an event dedicated to genre and fantasy cinema. After a long pause marked by postponements, the festival returns with a bold program where Arab voices take center stage.
A highly anticipated return
"Bringing back Maskoon wasn't easy. How do you talk about fantasy and genre cinema in a region devastated by wars, chaos and ethnic cleansing?" asks festival director Myriam Sassine in a statement.
For her, "the power of imagination and the voices of Arab filmmakers have become more important than ever in these difficult times."
Artistic director Antoine Waked confirms: "This year’s lineup puts Arab cinema front and center, dedicating the majority of the selection to Arab filmmakers."
Opening films and festival highlights
The opening night will feature "La Mer et ses vagues" ('The Sea and its waves') by Liana Kassir and Renaud Pachot, which was screened this year in Cannes’ ACID section.
The Lebanese filmmakers had already impressed Maskoon in 2018 with their short film "Dog River."
Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui returns with her first feature, "Animalia," winner of multiple awards at Sundance, while her compatriot Kamal Lazraq will present "Les meutes," ('The packs') a thriller honored at Cannes in the "Un certain regard" ('A certain look') section.
Tunisia will be represented with "Par-delà les montagnes" ('Over the mountains') by Mohamed Ben Attia, which debuted in Venice, and Lebanon with two short films: "The Watchman" by Ali Cherri and "Jamais je n’ai" ('Never have I') by Joyce Nashawati.
The "Classics" section will feature the restored version of Park Chan-wook’s "Oldboy" (2003), and a tribute to legendary David Lynch, who passed away this year, with "Lynch/Oz" and "Twin Peaks": "Fire Walk with Me."
Arab short film competition
Eight films make up the competition, tackling urgent contemporary topics: Syrian prisons ('Beyond the Sun' by Yazan Rabee), sexual harassment ('Seminal Animals' by Karim Souissi), cosmetic surgery ("Rouge" by Samaher Mosly), domestic violence ("Sixty Egyptian Pounds" by Amr Salama), and survival in an apocalyptic world ("The Sun Won’t Shine" by Adham Khaled).
The jury will include Jean Lauer (Fantastic Fest), Palestinian filmmaker Saïd Zagha, and Lebanese filmmaker Ahmad Ghossein. The winner for best Arab short will be invited to present their film at Fantastic Fest in Austin, while the Mediterranean prize will offer a spot at Cinemed in Montpellier.
Discussions and workshops
Two round tables are scheduled: one around "La Mer et ses vagues" with the film’s team, moderated by Tobias Pausinger (Berlinale Talents), and another with artist and filmmaker Ali Cherri in conversation with Rima Mismar (AFAC).
As every year, the festival trailer was created by ALBA students, in stop-motion.
Supported by the Metropolis cinema, Fantastic Fest, Cinemed, several distributors and local institutions, Maskoon is staying true to its mission: Creating a dialogue between imagination and reality, while offering a unique showcase for Arab genre cinema.
Tickets are available at Metropolis and on Antoine Online.
