The festival offers 20 prizes for the winning films in the competitions for features, shorts, documentaries and Gulf films, in addition to 6 prizes for the unperformed screenplay competition and 6 grants to support projects in the production market, according to Reuters.
In opening, the festival screened the short film “Sleeq” by Saudi director Afnan Bawian, which is of “stop motion animation” quality. Saudi producer Saleh Al-Fawzan and Bahraini screenwriter Amin Saleh were also honored.
The director of the opening film said before its screening: “The film tells the story of an old woman who lives alone in the old city of Jeddah, and an accident occurs in her kitchen which causes all the neighbors to cooperate. with her to take care of the matter.”
She added, “I’m happy because this is the first time an Arab festival has opened with an animated film, and I hope it will draw people’s attention to this type of film and the ideas that can be presented through this model.”
The festival devotes a section to virtual reality films which includes 8 films. The program, which runs until May 11, includes training workshops on (the director-actor relationship), (co-production between the Middle East, l Africa and Europe) and (the producer’s mission and the opportunities between financing and distribution).
The festival is organized by the Film Association in cooperation with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and with the support of the Film Authority of the Ministry of Culture.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
