'The Babylon Gardens' has garnered the attention of 15 other film festivals for its stunning CGI, which brought the historical Hanging Gardens back to life.
It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a jewel of Sumerian history. Now the Hanging Gardens of Babylon has been recreated through director Karim Moussa’s newest short film, starring Tara Emad, Firas Saeed and Maged Mekkawy. ‘The Babylon Gardens’ follows a Babylonian ruler who banishes his own son after accusing him of betrayal. Although the story isn’t based on history, it takes place right after the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, the ruler credited for creating the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his wife, Amytis of Media, who missed the green mountains of her homeland.
Even before it has the chance to premiere at the Orlando Film Festival this October, the short film has garnered the attention of 15 other film festivals for its stunning CGI, which brought the historical Hanging Gardens back to life.
Originally an architect, Moussa started directing purely out of passion for ancient wonders like these. “I wanted to build a virtual world around an existing story,” Moussa tells CairoScene. “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were a remarkable architectural site, and we really aimed to build our CGI to reflect that and add to this legendary tale.”
‘The Babylon Gardens’ has already won ‘Best Short Film’ at the New York International Film Awards, the Gold Award at the Independent Short Awards, and ’Best Short Film’ Florence Film Awards. It was also recognised with an official selection at Berlin International Art Film Festival, San Francisco Indie Short Festival, Miami Short Film Festival, and the Barciff Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Fest, among many others.
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