The 7th Omani Art
On the bill, two types of productions clash: Bollywood versus Hollywood. In the middle, some English productions. 100% Omani film production is almost non-existent, with only one film to date, released in 2007, Al Boom. This work by Omani filmmaker Khalid Abdulrahim Al-Zadjali evokes the challenges of a fishing community. In 2008, Pirate's Blood, a co-production between America, India and Oman, was released. In 2015, some 20 Omani students directed the documentary The Aquanauts Oman, which was presented for the first time at the Oman Film Society. The same year, French director Olivier Assayas travelled through Oman (notably to the cities of Muscat, Nizwa and Bahla) for his film Personal Shopper (with Kristen Stewart). The film's success attracts moviegoers to this region of the Middle East and gradually stimulates the country's efforts to make a place for itself on the list of international filming locations. If Omani 7th art is difficult to highlight, on the small screen however, several films and television soap operas win competitions organized by the Gulf countries. Omani television was awarded the Gold Medal at the Gulf Radio and Television Festival for its TV film, The Nature of Oman ; headlining the show were two national stars, Saleh Za'al and Farkhriya Khamis. Since 2000, every other year, between January and March, Film Week and the Muscat International Film Festival (MIFF) have alternated.
Oman through the documentary
Despite a difficult breakthrough in the world of cinema, Oman is the subject of many documentaries. Beginning with Lebanese filmmaker Heiny Srour's The Hour of Liberation Has Come(Saat al tah'rir dakkat, barra ya isti'mar), the first Arab woman to make 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 Said ibn Taimour with his son Qaboos. A true masterpiece of revolution, the documentary was selected at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. In 2004, the documentary Oman, a Sultanate of contrasts by Lionel Tardif, deals with the Qaboos period, truly marked by modernity. More recently, the documentaries La Garde du Sultan (2012) by Julie Clavier, Oman: De Sable et d'Écume (2014) by Alexandre Mostras, Operation Oman (2014) by Tristan Ofield, Oman, le trésor de Mudhmar (2018) by Cédric Robion and Mars, Oman (2019) by Vanesssa Del Campo Gatell have been noted.
