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Muslim International Film Festival · 2024

Muslim International Film Festival 2024

Features

Programme

8 films · 8 reviews

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Behind The Mountains (Oura El Jbel)

Review preview for Behind The Mountains

A magical realist tale which invites us to reassess what’s possible within the paradigms of science and Islam, to recognise the importance of entertaining wild ideas even as we see the danger of it.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
The story of a man who violently breaks free from his banal environment, evading society with its principles, codes and institutions.

(Country: Tunisia, Belgium, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar; Year: 2023; Director: Mohamed Ben Attia; Writer: Mohamed Ben Attia; Stars: Majd Mastoura, Walid Bouchhioua, Samer Bisharat, Selma Zghidi, Helmi Dridi, Wissem Belfharak)

Full review

Empty Nets (Leere Netze)

Review preview for Empty Nets

Karamizade is deft at capturing shifting moods.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A man and a woman from two different social classes keep their relationship a secret as the man struggles to raise a dowry.

(Country: Germany, Iran; Year: 2023; Director: Behrooz Karamizade; Writer: Behrooz Karamizade; Stars: Hamid Reza Abbasi, Sadaf Asgari)

Full review

Goodbye Julia

Review preview for Goodbye Julia

Kordofani uses the greater intimacy offered by the camera to bring us close to the characters and reveal the complex layers of relationship developing between them.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Wracked by guilt after covering up a murder, Mona — a northern Sudanese retired singer in a tense marriage — tries to make amends by taking in the deceased’s southern Sudanese widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel, into her home.

(Country: Sudan, Egypt, Germany, France, KSA, Sweden; Year: 2023; Director: Mohamed Kordofani; Writer: Mohamed Kordofani; Stars: Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak, Nazar Goma, Ger Duany, Issraa Elkogali Häggström)

Full review

Hesitation Wound

Review preview for Hesitation Wound

Hesitation Wound is a melancholy piece of cinema but such an accomplished one that it is a delight to watch.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A criminal lawyer faces difficult moral and emotional choices.

(Country: Turkey, France, Romania, Spain; Year: 2023; Director: Selman Nacar; Writer: Selman Nacar; Stars: Tülin Özen, Görkem Ipek)

Full review

Hounds

Review preview for Hounds

Some films take time to gather momentum, but there’s a sense of movement right from the off in Kamal Lazraq’s debut feature.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A fateful night in the life of a father and son after a kidnapping goes awry.

(Country: Morocco, France, Belgium, Qatar, Saudi Arabia; Year: 2023; Director: Kamal Lazraq; Writer: Kamal Lazraq; Stars: Ayoub Elaid, Abdellatif Masstouri, Mohamed Hmimsa, Abdellatif Lebkiri, Lahcen Zaimouzen, Salah Bensalah, Mohamed Kharbouchi, Amine Arakhisis, Amine Malouf, Hicham Bidar, Abdellah Bensaid, Abdelhak Saleh, Mohamed Jenkher, Amine Aboudrar, Hassan Ben Bdida)

Full review

Sky Peals

Review preview for Sky Peals

An unusually intimate, exploratory film underscored by dry humour, Sky Peals has an atmosphere that you won’t find anywhere else.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A lonely man starts to piece together the story of his estranged father after his death and discovers the older man didn't believe he was human.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Moin Hussain; Writer: Moin Hussain; Stars: Faraz Ayub, Natalie Gavin, Claire Rushbrook, Simon Nagra, Steve Oram, Jeff Mirza, Bill Fellows, Adrian Hood, Maizie Wickson, Alan Cammish, Teresa Mondol, Junaid Arshad, Christian Foster, Vicki Hackett, Lynne Payne)

Full review See: Interview with Moin Hussain about Sky Peals