Kuwaiti director Mishaal Al-Khalaf dies from Covid-19 aged 48

Al-Khalaf was behind the first Arabic candid-camera children's show

Kuwaiti actor and director Mishaal Al-Khalaf died on Sunday due to complications brought on by the coronavirus. Twitter

Kuwaiti director and actor Mishaal Al-Khalaf has died from complications caused by the coronavirus. He was 48.

The Sadouh director contracted the virus last week and was admitted to the intensive care unit of Kuwait's Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah Hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator, the Kuwaiti Arabic newspaper Al Qabas reported.

News of Al-Khalaf’s death was confirmed after Kuwait’s Ministry of Information released a statement mourning the director, saying the country had lost one of its most capable and giving creative individuals.

Al-Khalaf was among Kuwait Television's most prolific and popular directors. His programmes included Reaction, which is considered to be the first candid-camera children's show in the Arab world. He also took part in several dramatic productions for the small screen, as well as the stage, including the 2003 show Al Hareem and the 2004 play Nihaya Makhroush.

Fans and friends took to social media to pay tribute to the Kuwaiti director.

“News of your death hurt me,” Abeer Al Jumaa, a law student at Kuwait University, wrote on Twitter. “You were a good friend, a good brother, and a good example of good morals, never vilifying, criticising or blaming anyone. Always praising God and seeking to do good without expecting anything in return.”

“With great sadness and sorrow and with heavy hearts, we received news of the death of my brother and friend,” Sultan Al Odhaib Al Subaiyi, a graphic designer, wrote on Twitter.

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