Muscat: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will be the special guest for the ninth edition of the Muscat International Film Festival, which will kick off on March 21 this year.
Week-long festival
The week-long festival, organised by the Omani Film Society, will feature film competitions in various categories, including international, short and documentary films.
“We have selected 10 best short films, 10 best documentary films and 10 to 15 feature films,” Dr Khalid bin Abdul Rahim Zadjali, the CEO of the Omani Film Society, said at a press conference.
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The awards—Golden Khanjar and Silver Khanjar— will be given for the best film, direction, cinematography, male actor, female actor and script, towards the end of the closing ceremony.
This year, there will be an award for the debut film made by any filmmaker in addition to the best actor, best actress and the jury award for any film of their choice.
Golden Khanjar and Silver Khanjar will be the two main awards for documentaries and short films along with a third award, called the achievement award.
“We have invited many Arab and foreign celebrities, such as Shah Rukh Khan, Busi, Merfat Ameen, Sameer Sabri, Kareem Abduaziz, Salah Al Gazairi, Ismahan Tawfeq, Nesreen Faoor and others who will be here with their films and will present workshops,” Zadjali said.
This year, the festival will feature conferences and workshops, an Omani Short film colloquy besides conferences with actors, writers, critics and guests.
Screening
The films will be screened at the City Centre Muscat, City Centre Al Qurm, Omani Film Society and Culture Club.
An Omani Film Concourse will be presented at the festival for short films documentary.
The Concourse will witness the participation of five artists from Arab region and five Omani artists showcasing their paintings during the festival.
The festival will also launch the Omani Cinema Encyclopaedia, presenting the history of cinema in Oman.