Are Khaled Abol Naga and Tara Emad Going to the Oscars?
Not exactly! But they could be. An hour ago, Egyptian starlet Tara Emad posted on her Instagram account that animator Ahmed Roushdy’s movie The Unknown Sweet Potato Seller, where Emad stars alongside hotshot actor Khaled Abol Naga, will be premiering soon. Not only that, the movie has been also selected as part of Dubai Film Festival (DIFF) which basically means they can compete for a Muhr Award. Oh, and you know what happens with Muhr winners? Yup, they’re eligible for an Oscar nomination.
But wait, you’re probably really lost right now and asking yourself this question: What is a Muhr Award? Well, back in 2006, DIFF launched the Muhr competition for short films, features and documentaries originating from the United Arab Emirates and Arab world. The prestigious competition is heavily contested and has emerged as a definitive platform for Arab film, nurturing and rewarding filmmaking excellence in the Arab world. The competition has helped raise profiles of award recipients on the international stage and drawing attention to cinema from the region and to date has distributed 270 Muhr Awards. The competition is adjudicated by prestigious international juries. Oh, and the most important thing is Muhr winners have a bigger chance of making it to the Oscars.
This year, so many great movies made it to the Muhr Short Competition. From Five Boys and a Wheel by Palestinian director Said Zagha, to On the Ropes by Lebanese director Manon Nammour and so many other fantastic entries. But let’s rewind back a bit to our original subject which was Tara Emad and Khaled Abol Naga making it to the Oscars. We don’t know if they will, but we here at Scoop Empire are rooting for them and we seriously hope they do in fact win a Muhr Award!
WE SAID THIS: Good luck, you guys.
