South by Southwest Film Festival Brings International Dimension to 2011 Selection

Montreal, Canada - 25 February 2011 - Mokhtar, written and directed by Halima Ouardiri has its United States premiere at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival.This lyrical coming of age story set in a remote Moroccan village, screens before the Dutch feature Tunnelvisie on March 12 and 17. The winner of the SXSW grand jury award is eligible for a 2012 Academy Award nomination for best narrative short.

With her debut film, director Halima-an up-and-coming female voice, cinematically captures the moment in life when a young boy's relationship to his world grows less magical. Born in Switzerland to a Swiss mother and a Moroccan father, Halima moved to Canada to study film and political science. Following her studies she decided to remain in Montreal and later joined forces with EyeSteelFilm, a documentary and multimedia production company that got its start making documentaries with the local homeless community.

After winning a screenwriting award for Mokhtar, Halima was able to move the project into production. For her debut film, shot entirely on location in Morocco, the director opted to cast untrained actors from the outlying villages in every role to make the characters appear more natural and lend a greater air of authenticity to the film. The director and her cinematographer Duraid Munajim-who worked as a camera operator on last year's Oscar-winner The Hurt Locker, developed the look and of the film which has a very feature film quality.

Following the movie's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the director picked up a Most Promising Director prize at the Vancouver International Film Festival and last December received a second prize award at the prestigious Dubai International Film Festival. Mokhtar screened earlier this month in the 61st Berlin International Film Festival.

About the SXSW Film Festival

The SXSW Film Conference and Festival, based in Austin, TX in southwestern United States is a uniquely creative environment and a hotbed of discovery and interactivity offering invaluable networking opportunities and immersion into the art and business of the rapidly evolving world of independent film. This year the event takes place March 11 - 19.

About EyeSteelFilm

EyeSteelFilm is a documentary film and interactive media company dedicated to using cinema as a catalyst for social and political change. The organization's mandate is to create and distribute films that empower people who are ignored by mainstream media. EyeSteelFilm was founded through making films with the homeless community. Over the years, EyeSteelFilm has collaborated with a wide range of partners including: The National Film Board of Canada, CBC, CTV, BBC, ZDF/ARTE, PBS and ITVS.

Contact
EyeSteelFilm
4475 St. Laurent, Suite #202
Montreal, Quebec
Canada H2W 1Z8

Press Contact
3VMedia International
rita (at) 3vmediainternational.de
+49 175 721 9737

This release was published on openPR.