Celebrating the 15th anniversary of his passing…Mustafa Al-Akkad is a creative talent and martyr

Damascus, (ST)- In honor of the Syrian international cinematic creator and director Mustafa Al-Akkad, the Arab Cultural Center in Al-Adawi, in cooperation with the General Film Organization, held an event celebrating his artistic career and cinematic achievements on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of his passing away.

The event included a symposium entitled (Mustafa Al-Akkad, creator and martyr) with a documentary film by the director and film critic, Awad Al-Qadro. The film dealt with the life of the late Akkad ,narrated with the voice of the brilliant artist, Mona Wasef, starting from his birth in 1930 in Aleppo, his primary and secondary education, and his interest in cinema. The film also focused on his travel to the United States to study the seventh art, his work in Hollywood and his film “The Message”, in its Arabic and English versions, and the wide fame that it achieved. In addition to the film “Omar Al-Mukhtar“, for which Mustafa Al-Akkad chose a foreign actor to portray the hero, with the aim of convincing the Western viewer of the justice of our cases, leading to his latest film project on Salah al-Din al–Ayyubi, but he was martyred before he completed it.

In a statement to SANA, Director Al-Qadro explained that the film was produced in 2006, months after his death, in conjunction with the celebration of “Aleppo, the Capital of Islamic Culture.”  He indicated that he tried to highlight the most prominent stages of Akkad’s life since he was born in Aleppo until the moments of his martyrdom at the hands of  Takfiri  terrorists.

Critic Mulham Al-Saleh, pointed out that Al-Akkad is an indelible imprint and we are proud that he is Syrian, indicating that this film may be a token of loyalty to this creator and a reminder of his importance and his project. The project that based on clarifying the image of Islam as well as introducing the West to the true Islam  through the great figures who were shown in the films “The Message” and “Omar Al-Mukhtar” as if it  was an artistic emissary from  the homeland, Arabism and Islam in the world.

Reem Taylouni, director of the Adawi Cultural Center, highlighted that Akkad is one of the most important global directors, and it is necessary to remember these Syrian creators, who have always left an impressive imprint in art all over the world

She noted that the center has always paid attention to highlighting the Syrian creators, whether alive or who have left leaving us with a deep artistic impact.

Amal Farhat