The ninth edition of the Saudi Film Festival has commenced in Dhahran, featuring 78 films that highlight comedy. The festival's opening showcased the short film "Saleeq," directed by Saudi filmmaker Afnaan Baweian, which is a "stop-motion animation" type. The festival also honored Saudi producer Saleh Al-Fawzan and Bahraini screenwriter Ameen Saleh.
Before the screening, the director of the opening film stated, "The film tells the story of an elderly woman living alone in old Jeddah, and an incident in her kitchen leads to all the neighbors collaborating to deal with the situation."
She added, "I am happy that this is the first time an Arab festival is opened with an animation film, and I hope this draws people's attention to this type of film and the ideas that can be presented through this medium."
The festival is offering 20 awards for winning films in the categories of feature films, short films, documentaries, and Gulf films, in addition to six awards for the unproduced screenplay competition and six grants to support production market projects.
A section dedicated to virtual reality films includes eight films, and the program, which extends until May 11, also features training workshops on "The Director and Actor Relationship," "Co-production between the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe," and "The Role and Opportunities of the Producer between Financing and Distribution."
The festival is organized by the Cinema Association in collaboration with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and supported by the Film Authority of the Ministry of Culture.
