Muscat – The first-ever Iranian film festival in the sultanate started on Monday at Oman Film and Theatre Society.

Five films, including the popular The Maritime Silk Road (Mohammad Bozorgnia), Copper and Gold (Homayun As’adian) and A Cradle for the Mother (Panahbarkhoda Reza), will be screened during the festival.

The event is being held with support from the Embassy of Iran in Muscat.

Running till March 9 at Oman Film and Theatre Society’s main hall, the films starts at 7pm. Entry is free for all.

Speaking about the festival, Mohammad al Darwish, a filmmaker and senior member of Oman Film and Theatre Society, said, “Iran has a strong history of excellent storytelling through movies. From Abbas Kiarostami to Majid Majidi, Iranian cinema has a massive contribution to the world cinema. We are extremely happy to have a list of films depicting the social, cultural and historical scenarios of Iran and the Arab world.”

He added that considering this is the first ever Iranian film festival in the country, he expects a good turnout of film-buffs.

The Maritime Silk Road is about Soleiman Siraf, who according to historical documents, was the first sailor to cross the Indian Ocean to China. His route was later called the Maritime Silk Road and many merchants took that route to ship their merchandise to China.