Mina Takla

Mina Takla is a foreign correspondent for AwardsWatch and the co-founder of The Syndicate, an online news agency that offers original content services to several film brands including Empire Magazine’s Middle East edition and the Dubai Film Festival. Takla has attended, covered and written for multiple film festivals online including the Dubai International Film Festival, Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Annecy Film Festivals. He has been following the Oscar race since 2000 with accurate, office-pool winning predictions year after year. He writes monthly in Empire Arabia, the Arabic version of the world’s top cinema magazine and conducts press junkets with Hollywood stars in the UK and the US. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Marketing from Australia’s Wollongong University and is currently based in Dubai, UAE.

Interview: With ‘Shayda,’ Director Noora Niasari Celebrates Survival and Hope Rather Than Leaning into Victimhood

One of the most talked about films of Sundance 2023, Noora Niasari’s Shayda, connected with audiences and soon became a… Read More

December 14, 2023

‘Four Daughters’ Review: Kaouther Ben Hania’s Inventive Documentary/Narrative Hybrid is One of the Best Films of the Year | Toronto

Love can be painful, hard and overbearing. That’s particularly true when it comes to maternal love in the Middle East,… Read More

September 18, 2023

‘Shayda’ Review: Noora Niasari’s Narrative Feature Debut is a Striking, Moving Tale of Resistance and Empowerment | Toronto

This review contains spoilers. In her feature film debut Shayda, which will represent Australia in this year’s Best International Feature… Read More

September 16, 2023

‘Hajjan’ Review: Abu Bakr Shawky’s Follow-Up to ‘Yomeddine’ a Mostly Enjoyable Crowd Pleaser That Rings a Bit Hollow | Toronto

Egyptian-Austrian filmmaker Abu Bakr Shawky made quite the splash in 2018 with his debut feature film Yomeddine which became the… Read More

September 14, 2023

‘Next Goal Wins’ Review: Michael Fassbender is Pitch Perfect in Taika Waititi’s Enjoyable Underdog Sports Story | Toronto

Conventional but still enjoyable, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins presents the real story of the American Samoa football team, who… Read More

September 13, 2023

‘Lee’ Review: Kate Winslet and Andy Samberg Excel in Ellen Kuras’ Largely Unambitious Debut Feature | Toronto

Making the transition from cinematography to directing, Ellen Kuras delivers a biopic that, while boasting competent technical credits, lacks the… Read More

September 13, 2023

‘Pain Hustlers’ Review: David Yates Delivers a Conventionally Accessible Look at Corporate Greed | Toronto

In Pain Hustlers, David Yates embarks on a different kind of project that couldn’t be further away from his recent… Read More

September 13, 2023

‘The Teacher’ Review: Farah Nabulsi’s Feature Debut is a Mildly Satisfying, if Narratively Muddled, Take on Repressed Anger | Toronto

Palestinian British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s previous short film, The Present, catapulted her to worldwide acclaim with its heartfelt story about… Read More

September 11, 2023

‘Les Indésirables’ Review: Ladj Ly’s Look at the Clash Between Power and Marginalized Groups in Modern Day Paris Disappoints | Toronto

Five years ago, French filmmaker Ladj Ly made quite the splash with his debut feature Les Misérables, a harrowing, gut-wrenching… Read More

September 11, 2023

‘Perfect Days’ Review: Wim Wenders’ Latest Finds the Beauty in the Mundane | Toronto

Films like Perfect Days are rare to come by. Rather than opting for a clear-cut narrative with dramatic twists and… Read More

September 9, 2023

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