“Collapsed Walls” by Moroccan director Hakim Belabbes has been shortlisted for the 19th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, scheduled for September 5–9 in the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, located 800 km east of Moscow.
The 136-minute feature will be competing in the “full-length feature film” category alongside nine other movies from Russia, India, Iraq, Tunisia, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkey, Syria, and Greece, according to the festival program unveiled by the organizers.
A total of 52 entries from 21 countries (Russia, Iran, Syria, India, Iraq, Morocco, Tajikistan, Turkey, Greece, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, Senegal, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Egypt, and Algeria) are competing in the categories: “Full-length feature films”, “Short feature films”, “Full-length documentary films”, “Short documentary films” and “the National Competition”, which includes films made in Tatarstan.
This year, the selection committee of the festival received a total of 712 applications from 44 countries.
“Collapsed Walls” features a host of actors from different generations, including Amine Naji, Hassna Moumni, Zhour Slimani, and Sanaa El Alaoui, among others. Set in the small town of Bejaâd, the film delves into the stories of everyday life – difficult for some, merciful for others- of men and women, wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters.
These different characters tell of contrasts, injustices, and the most beautiful gifts of fate, from mourning the loss of a loved one to a new birth that brings hope and happiness.
The Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, which has been held since 2005, aims to promote the exchange of experience between the workers in the sphere of culture and Arts in Russia and Muslim countries by emphasizing human, spiritual, and moral values as well as the cultural traditions reflected through the lens of filmmakers of Muslim and other faiths.
Held under the motto “To the dialogue of cultures through the culture of dialogue,” the festival was initiated by the Council of Muftis of Russia, the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography of Russia, and the Ministry of Culture of Tatarstan with the support of the president of Tatarstan.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse