After 42 Years from its Release, Gulf Countries Lifts Ban on “The Message” Movie
By Febronia Hanna
Since the release of Moustapha Akkad’s movie “The Message”, it had been banned from cinemas in the Gulf region but now it’s been given the green light to show in cinemas over Eid-Elfetr’s weekend starting from June 14.
The film will be re-released in a new fully restored 4K version, the first-ever screening of this 4K version was in Dubai’s International Film Festival, and then Malek Akkad, Moustapha’s son, and Front Row Filmed Entertainment’s managing director, Gianluca Chakra decided they should pull a campaign to ensure the screening in the region.
When the message had been shown for the first time 42 years ago, there were some misunderstandings on whether the image of Prophet Mohammed was portrayed on screen which resulted in the movie being pulled from theaters and sometimes even banned.
