Saudi talent at Cannes Film Festival 2022
The Saudi Film Festival has just announced its lineup of 69 films to be featured in its eighth edition. The final selection was made from a total of 125 film submissions, with 36 of which will be featured in every competition, eight of which are full feature films, 28 of which are short films, and 33 of which were nominated for the parallel presentation program film.
Each film will be competing for various categories at the Golden Palms awards. There will be seven categories in total, which are as follows: Jury prize, best feature film, best actor, best actress, best musical score, best cinematography, and best screenplay.
Furthermore, the Saudi Film Festival has also announced its juries to be part of the Golden Palms awards. In fact, each panel will judge each film based on a specific category. Koutaiba Al-Janabi, Aisha Kay, and Ahmed Fawzy will be part of the feature film jury; Hakim Belabbas, Ilham Al-Ali, and Ayten Mutlu Saray will be part of the short film jury; and Abdulmohsen Al-Dabaan will be leading the script jury.
The Saudi Film Festival is set to run from June 2 to 9, 2022, and will be managed by the Film Commission in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra). As one of several venues celebrating filmmaking across Saudi Arabia, it aims to support the Kingdom’s ambition in promoting its rising film industry.
Recently, the CEO of the Red Sea Film Festival, Mohammed Al Turki, commended the rise of Saudi cinema, stating, "We are aware that the path for Saudi cinema to prosper is still long, but it is still ongoing... [It is] relatively new compared to some countries in the region or the world. Nevertheless, it is on its way to claiming a special position on the world cinema map given its unique language and cultural and social context."
