The fourth annual Beirut Film Festival opened Wednesday, October 3, in the absence of several foreign guests due to the turmoil since the anti-US terror attacks. Organizers told AFP that French director Olivier Assayas, Iranian director-producer Bahman Farmanara and British author and art critic Mark Sanders were among those who have opted out of the week-long festival.
The festival opened with a movie called "No Man's Land" by Bosnian director Danis Tanovic, as part of an out-of competition showing of feature films from Iran, Turkey, France and the United States.
The main event is a Middle East and Arab film competition featuring movies from Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Tunisia and Turkey. The jury is made up of Italian producer Marco Muller, Egyptian director Enas Deghady, Syrian director Mohammad Mallas and Lebanon's Nora Jumblatt, president of the Beiteddine summer festivals.
The film festival will also include a competition of Lebanese short films and documentaries as well as a retrospective of films on the Armenian diaspora and a tribute to Mallas. ― (AFP, Beirut)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
