The activities of the Saudi Film Festival will begin in its tenth session tomorrow, Thursday, under the theme of “Science Fiction Cinema,” which is organized by the Cinema Society in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Cultural Ithra, with the support of the Film Authority of the Ministry of Culture, for 8 days, at the center in Dhahran.
The artistic director of the Saudi Film Festival, Ahmed Al-Shayeb, spoke about the festival on the Saudi Cultural Evening programme, and stressed that the secret of the success and continuation of the festival from 2008 to the next tenth session, despite all the intersections and difficulties, was because cinema is considered a high level of influence in the world, and has received all the attention, and previously. Although it did not previously exist in Saudi Arabia, citizens used to go to it through several ways, such as DVDs and television, and in comparison with any other art, cinema was and still is at the forefront and in popularity, and this passion has brought many young people into the industry, by presenting films bearing their names, There were many experiences around us, and he stressed that the Saudi Film Festival began with poets, led by Ahmed Al-Mulla in the Literary Club, where he watched certain films with the rest of the writers and poets in their cultural gatherings, and in the presence of a group of intellectuals, and there was an urgent desire before 2008 to present a festival and films.
He said that because of the presence of a large cinematic and artistic movement in the Gulf region, and the presence of several film festivals nearby, a number of filmmakers in Saudi Arabia would travel to Dubai, for example, to present and screen their films in festivals there. In the midst of that, there was a desire among these intellectuals to present a film festival, and indeed the Mullah seized it in cooperation with… The Literary, Culture and Arts Club, and thus the Saudi Film Festival was actually launched in 2008 under the name “Saudi Film Competition.”
The artistic director of the Saudi Film Festival, Ahmed Al-Shayeb, added that the competition was initially only screenings of Saudi films, a group of seminars and the presentation of two specialized books as well, and all of this was presented under the umbrella of the Culture and Arts Society in partnership with the Literary Club, and was held at the association’s headquarters for 5 days, in the Eastern Province. In the Kingdom.
Regarding the location of the Saudi Film Festival among other Saudi festivals such as the Red Sea Film Festival and others, he said that the festival is considered very local Saudi, but with international standards, and of course it is rare to see a local film festival in the world at this high level, and its orientation is primarily local, and the Red Sea Festival The Gulf Film Festival, which returned after a long period of hiatus in Riyadh, has somewhat different roles from our festival, in terms of quality, choices, guests, and competitions. The Saudi Film Festival relies on Saudi production in the first place, and in recent years it has begun to include Gulf filmmakers, from By including them in film screenings and some awards, perhaps the secret of our success are filmmakers from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and we always facilitate the entry of filmmakers into competitions without any limits or restrictions, because we consider ourselves the basis for their launch into cinema, especially since we are despite the great leaps in cinema that the Kingdom is witnessing, Only in the beginning, as beginners in filmmaking need opportunity and embrace, and here comes our role.
Al-Shayeb stressed that the festival provides the filmmakers with everything they need to get started, such as first displaying their work, then interacting with specialists, veterans, and the large audience, and of course all of this is in the interest of presenting films in the name of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
The festival’s activities come after 10 sessions of cinematic creativity, which were full of programs and film screenings, with about 1,444 participating films, more than 2,000 unexecuted scenarios, and 289 projects in the production market, in addition to 155 cinematic awards, which contributed to supporting filmmakers and advancing Saudi cinema.
The festival chose the opening film of the session, “Underground,” by Saudi director Abdul Rahman Sundakji, which is a long documentary film that sheds light on musical talent in the Kingdom and reviews the reality of the local music industry, as it is one of the films participating in the documentary film competition in the tenth session.
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