Romy Matar won the Best Lebanese Film Award for Rind…
And a special mention for “Last Day of Sun” by Kays Mejri from Tunisia
No Key by Walid Messnaoui from Morocco won the Maskoon Award for Best Arab Genre Short at the sixth edition of Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival for Horror, Fantasy, thriller and Sci-Fi films, which ended Friday evening in Beirut, while Romy Matar’s Rind was chosen as the best short among the Lebanese films, and Last Day of Sun by Kais Mejri (Tunisia) got a special mention from the jury.
The jury, formed by Lebanese actress Carole Abboud, Director of Amman Film Industry Days at Amman Film Festival, producer Bassam Alasad, and Lebanese-Jordanian scriptwriter, director and producer Bassel Ghandour, praised the “high cinematic language” in No Key, describing its rhythm as “breathtaking.”
The committee noted that the actors in the Moroccan winning film, which will be included in the short film competition of Fantaspoa Fantastic Film Festival in Brazil, “share an amazing screen chemistry that brings pleasure to the spectator.”
Romy Matar’s Rind won the Best Lebanese Short Film Award for being “beautifully crafted”. The jury considered that the film, whose prize allows its participation next year in the Cinemed Mediterranean Film Festival that takes place in Montpellier in France. The jury praised Rind saying it “expresses a personal struggle by taking the audience through an inventively abstract and wonderful immersive trip.”
The jury also insisted on handing a special mention to Last Day of Sun by Kays Mejri from Tunisia because of the “high cinematic quality of the film,” according to the jury, “moreover because it is based on a real story.”
The festival concluded with the Jordanian film The Alleys, which premiered at Locarno Film Festival. It is Ghandour’s first feature as a director, and sheds light on contemporary Jordanian society. The “Maskoon” audience had the opportunity to discuss the film after it screened with Bassel Ghandour, who previously co-wrote and produced the Oscar nominated film Theeb. And a reminder that Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or winner, Triangle of Sadness, directed by Swedish director Robin Östlund, screening at the festival’s opening.