The 7th Omani Art
On the bill, two types of production clash: Bollywood versus Hollywood. In between, a few English productions. 100% Omani film production is almost non-existent, with just one film to date, released in 2007, Al Boom. Directed by Omani filmmaker Khalid Abdulrahim Al-Zadjali, it evokes the challenges faced by a fishing community. 2008 saw the release of Pirate's Blood, a co-production between America, India and Oman. In 2015, some 20 Omani students made the documentary The Aquanauts Oman, which premiered at the Oman Film Society. The same year, French director Olivier Assayas visited Oman (including the cities of Muscat, Nizwa and Bahla) for his film Personal Shopper (starring Kristen Stewart). The film's success attracted film buffs to the Middle East region, and gradually boosted the country's efforts to gain a place on the list of international shooting locations. While Oman's 7th art is difficult to put in the spotlight, on the small screen several films and TV serials win competitions organized by Gulf countries. Omani television won the Gold Medal at the Gulf Radio and Television Festival for its TV film, The Nature of Oman , starring two national stars, Saleh Za'al and Farkhriya Khamis. Since 2000, Cinema Week and the Muscat International Film Festival (MIFF) have alternated every other year between January and March.
Oman through the documentary
Despite a difficult breakthrough in the world of cinema, Oman is the subject of numerous documentaries. Starting with L'heure de la libération a sonné(Saat al tah'rir dakkat, barra ya isti'mar) by Lebanese filmmaker Heiny Srour, the first Arab woman to direct a film. L'heure de la libération a sonné (released in 1974) deals with the uprising of the Omani people in 1965, following a coup d'état by the British secret service to replace the then Sultan Saïd ibn Taimour with his son Qaboos. A true masterpiece of revolution, the documentary was selected for the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. In 2004, Lionel Tardif's documentary Oman, un sultanat de contrastes (Oman, a sultanate of contrasts ) dealt with the Qaboos period, which was truly marked by modernity. More recent documentaries include Julie Clavier's La Garde du Sultan (2012), Alexandre Mostras' Oman : De Sable et d'Écume (2014), Tristan Ofield's Operation Oman (2014), Cédric Robion's Oman, le trésor de Mudhmar (2018) and Vanessa Del Campo Gatell's Mars, Oman (2019).
