Fourth Gulf Film Festival kicks off in Riyadh, scaling up Saudi movie industry

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH —The Gulf Film Festival in its fourth edition, which began on Monday in Riyadh, included dialogue sessions and training workshops of interest to filmmakers.

The festival, which extends for up to 5 days, will see the screening of 29 diverse films across several categories, including feature films, short films, and documentaries, allowing visitors to explore new dimensions of the film industry.

A number of film experts provide training workshops for festival visitors. A workshop on “How to Make an Impactful Documentary” will be presented by AbdualRahman Sundakji, while a workshop on “The Relationship of the Music Composer and the Film Director” will be presented by Muhammad Haddad. The “Art, Writing and Script Development” workshop will be presented by Muhammad Hassan Ahmed.

The seminars will tackle six different topics: “Challenges of Production of Adapted Films”, “Film Festivals in the Gulf Countries.” “, “Support Funds and Co-Finances”, “Independent Films and Small Budgets”, and “Experiencing Platforms in the Middle East”.

Several filmmakers are competing for the festival’s nine awards, which cover various aspects of the world of filmmaking, such as the full experience, directing, photography, music and acting, as part of the continuous endeavor to stimulate development and growth in the field of cinema regionally. The festival will honor five prominent cinema figures who would provide qualitative works that elevated Gulf culture to the global cultural scene.