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.

‘The Assessment’ Review: Alicia Vikander Gives Parental Guidance in Mother Off with Elizabeth Olsen | TIFF

Parenthood can be hard, time consuming and daunting - but it can also be selfish. Beyond the desire to have… Read More

September 16, 2024

‘Eden’ Review: Ron Howard Delivers His Most Exciting Project in Years with Too Wild To Be True Sexy Social Thriller | TIFF

While watching Eden, it’s hard to imagine what you’re seeing on screen actually happened. But perhaps that’s the entire point… Read More

September 16, 2024

‘Happy Holidays’ Review: Scandar Copti’s Winning Screenplay Offers an Unflinching Look at the Impossibilities of Integration | TIFF

Fresh off a well-deserved Orizzonti Award win for Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival, Scandar Copti’s Happy Holidays lands… Read More

September 16, 2024

‘The Fire Inside’ Review: Rachel Morrison’s Directorial Feature debut is a Sincere Yet Unremarkable, By-the-Numbers Sports Biopic | TIFF

Award-winning cinematographer Rachel Morrison (the first woman ever Oscar-nominated for cinematography) makes her feature debut with The Fire Inside, an… Read More

September 12, 2024

‘Việt and Nam’ Review: Trương Minh Quý’s Haunting and Melancholic Look at a Country Struggling with its Past | TIFF

Life can be a series of question marks that are never resolved. We may forever wrestle with the possibilities and… Read More

September 11, 2024

‘To a Land Unknown’ Review: Mahdi Fleifel’s Unforgettable Feature Debut is a Rousing Reflection on Displacement | TIFF

In Mahdi Fleifel’s much-anticipated feature debut, following a number of widely acclaimed shorts, the refugee experience is depicted in ways… Read More

September 8, 2024

‘Perfumed with Mint’ Review: From Egypt’s Arab Spring Muhammed Hamdy’s Striking Debut of a Wounded Generation Was Born | TIFF

In 2011, Egyptians dreamt of change, social justice and an end to decades-long corruption. The January 25th revolution, led primarily… Read More

September 8, 2024

‘The Girl with the Needle’ Review: Magnus von Horn Serves a Gripping and Bleak Tale of Unspeakable Violence | TIFF

In his third feature, Swedish filmmaker Magnus von Horn delivers a striking look at one of Denmark’s most haunting crimes.… Read More

September 6, 2024

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

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