The Crown of Olives
Fall Grants 2020 - Development Stage
Muzna Almusafer / Feature Narrative / Oman, Italy, Qatar / 88 min / Original Language: Arabic, English / Interests: Drama
Synopsis
Reem leaves her small Moroccan village where producing olive oil is their only means of making a living, to escape to Muscat to start a new life. She works as a dancer and within a few months, tired of the constant harassment from men, she leaves the job disappointed. The past haunts her with thoughts of a previous love relationship, breaking her peace of mind. She speaks to a friend and finds a job in a women’s salon as a hairdresser. At the new job, she meets Marwa, an Omani girl who has her own quest. They become good friends, and Marwa invites Reem to her house where the pair share secrets. Marwa is eager to marry her boyfriend Ismael and secretly prepares for their marriage. Marwa feels it is her only sanctuary. Reem learns about Marwa’s boyfriend Ismael, who continually finds excuses and lies to delay their wedding. Then Reem offers to put a spell on Ismael and gives Marwa a talisman on Valentine’s Day. Marwa doesn’t hesitate to accept the talisman, but it leads a fork in both of their roads which will affect them drastically.
Credits
- Director
- Muzna Almusafer
- Screenwriter
- Muzna Almusafer
- Producer
- Carlo Cresto-Dina
- Production Company
- Tempesta
About the Director
Muzna Almusafer's first film 'Niqab', was the winner of a student competition at the Gulf Film Festival in 2010. Her second short 'Cholo' won Best Script at Abu Dhabi Film Festival and had a special screening at the Smithsonian Institute in the National Museum of African Arts, Washington D.C, Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam, Institute de Monde Arabe in Paris, and aired in TV5 Monde, Voice of America Persia. She was a board member of the Oman Film Society and worked with Muscat International Film Festival as a deputy artistic director in 2018 and served as a jury member for Kuwait Film Festival in 2019.