BEIRUT: Syria’s best-known filmmaker was released after being taken in for questioning by intelligence forces at the Lebanese border as he made his way to a festival in Geneva, a friend said yesterday. “Mohammad Malas was held for five hours by the intelligence forces on Tuesday. He was released, but is still in Syria,” the friend, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.
Malas was detained on Tuesday as he made his way from Damascus to Beirut, with plans to fly to Geneva, where his latest film “Ladder to Damascus” is set to feature in the upcoming film festival. Though he has been released, it is unclear whether Malas will be able to make it in time for the festival. Last year Malas’s 1990 film “The Night” was named as one of the 10 best Arab films in a review by Guardian newspaper.
AFP
