The sixth edition, from December 12 to 16, has maintained its Arab identity
Genre Films (horror films, thrillers, sci-fi, black comedies) from Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Morocco, Tunisia and the UAE are screening in the festival and in its competition
The organisers of the Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival for genre films insisted on holding its sixth edition between the 12th and 16th of December despite the “nightmare” that Lebanon is experiencing. Even though this 6th edition is the smallest edition to date, they were keen to preserve its Arab identity, whether through the feature films selected, or those competing in the Maskoon Genre Short Film competition. This year, the festival fully regains its in-person aspect, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to move online for the 4th edition while the 6th edition was a hybrid one combining both virtual and in-person screenings and events..
Beirut DC is organising the festival at Cinema “Montaigne”- French Institute of Beirut from December 12 to 16. Admissions to film screenings and talks are free of charge.
The Festival’s Executive Director, Myriam Sassine, stated that this edition is taking place “at a time when Lebanon is still sinking into a nightmarish dystopia and is suffering on multiple levels.” Despite that, Sassine noticed “encouraging collective efforts in the last few months to revive culture and bring it back to the country.” She expressed satisfaction at the “enthusiastic public turnout that shows thirst for activities that aim to feed the soul, nurture creativity and positive exchanges despite the gloomy situation.”
Sassine considered that “every person working in the cultural sector today is akin to a heroic warrior fighting against the forces of oppression and indifference that are draining Lebanon from its soulful resources and talents.” She added: “we worked with determination to hold the festival’s sixth edition, despite the great difficulties we were faced with. Even though this is the smallest edition to date, we conceived it with a lot of love, to prove our will to continue the fight to preserve Lebanon as a beacon of culture and creativity.”
Program
Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival’s artistic director, Antoine Waked, explained that the festival “kicks off with a bang with the Palme d’or winner, Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund, a dark comedy that captures with an irresistible mordant satire the contradictions of this twisted world we live in.”
He pointed out that horror and thriller aficionados will get a treat with three films, which are Speak No Evil, by the Danish director Christian Tafdrup that premiered in Sundance Film Festival. Piggy by Spanish director Carlota Pereda also premiered at Sundance and toured festivals worldwide winning a Méliès Award. The film tackles bullying and vengeance with a fresh angle. As for Deadstream by Joseph and Vanessa Winter, it’s a horror found-footage comedy from the US and it tells the story of a social media influencer visiting a haunted house.
Waked said that the festival “is proud to present two ground-breaking genre films from the Arab world that confirm that Arab cinema is witnessing a revolution through its increasing demand for genre films,” which are the specialty of MaskoonFFF.
The first feature is “Ashkal” by Tunisian director Youssef Chebbi, which premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and recently won the Antigone d’Or Award at Cinemed. Ashkal is an astonishing detective thriller set in the backdrop of the Tunisian revolution. Black Medusa, Chebbi’s previous film, co-directed with his brother Ismaël, screened at the 5th edition of Maskoon. This time, Chebbi is attending the festival and will be in Beirut along with his producer Farès Ladjimi to present the screening and to participate in a case-study about the film’s making. The festival is also hosting Bassel Ghandour, who co-wrote the Jordanian film “Theeb” (nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category in 2014). Ghandour will present his directorial debut The Alleys, a noirish look at contemporary Jordanian society. He will also conduct a masterclass about scriptwriting.
Maskoon Arab Genre Short Film Competition
in addition to the six feature films, the Maskoon Arab Genre Short Film Competition is also on the program. It includes ten innovative short films that prove the growing interest of young filmmakers in the various genres of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, thriller or suspense.
These ten shorts explore distinctive visual narratives and tackle a variety of subjects reflecting on the current state of the world. From mental illness to dystopian societies, audiences will discover a new facet of Arab cinema. The selected shorts are: Border by Khalifa Al Thani (Qatar), It Gets Darker by Firas Abou Fakher & Daniel Habib (Lebanon), Last Day of Sun by Kays Mejri (Tunisia), Limbo by Leah Yared (Lebanon), Night Shift by Ali Mostafa (UAE), No Key by Walid Messnaoui (Morocco), Rind by Romy Matar (Lebanon), Something’s Not Right by Hugo Hochar (Lebanon), Spasm by Mike Malajalian (Lebanon), Suicide Candidates by Hamza Atifi (Morocco).
The jury evaluating these films include Lebanese actress and producer Carole Abboud, Head of Industry at Amman Film Festival, producer Bassam Alasad, and Lebanese Jordanian screenwriter, director, and producer Bassel Ghandour.
The jury will grant the Best Maskoon Short Award, allowing the winning film to screen in competition at the acclaimed Brazilian genre festival Fantaspoa, while the winner of the Best Lebanese Short Award will have the opportunity to be screened at the renowned Cinemed festival in Montpellier.
Seminars and discussions
In addition to the film screenings, and in line with its tradition of sharing knowledge and experiences within the film community, the Maskoon talks are also back for two special days at ALBA (Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts – University of Balamand). The talks will be held on the 15th and 16th of December and are open to the public, film students, film professionals and aficionados. These talks include masterclasses and case studies with guest filmmakers Bassel Ghandour, Youssef Chebbi and Lebanese director Oualid Mouaness, producers Myriam Sassine, Lara Abou Saifan, Farès Ladjimi and a workshop on sustainable filmmaking with Bassam Alasad, who is also the co-founder of Greener Screen that aims to provide a transparent and effective way to cut down on emissions produced by the Film and TV industry.
Partners
Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival is hosted by Beirut DC in partnership of Film Independent, Global Media Makers, Abbout Productions, Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (Alba) – University of Balamand, the Embassy of Spain in Lebanon, Distribution companies Front Row Entertainment and MC Distribution, Fantaspoa and Cinemed festivals, as well as Chateau St Thomas, Mayrig and Marinella.
The Maskoon trailer is once again created by ALBA animation students: Rana Rachid, Kay Shamoun et Elio Nseir.
The festival is part of the Méliès Federation, which includes Fantastic Film Festivals in the world.