RIYADH: More than 60 short films will compete for "Golden Palm Tree" trophies in the 2nd Saudi Film Festival that begins in Dammam on Friday, festival director Ahmed Al-Mulla said.
Organizers said they hope the five-day festival will open eyes in Saudi Arabia to the possibilities of film despite objections from a section of the population that cinema will "Westernise" the Kingdom.
"I think we in Saudi Arabia have beautiful culture to tell the world," said filmmaker Abdullah Al-Eyaf, the head of the festival jury.
"Why should we wait for this country or that country ... to tell stories about Saudi Arabia?"
Most of the filmmakers being showcased are under the age of 25, said Al-Mulla, who sees his role as helping them to develop.
As well as screening films, the festival will include workshops on scriptwriting, music and directing, and talks by industry figures from around the region.
Among the films to be shown is "Grand Marriage", a documentary directed by Faisal Al-Otaibi that tells the story of a two-week wedding ceremony taking place in the archipelago nation of the Comoros.
Haifaa Al-Mansour, the country's first female filmmaker, has been invited to attend but she lives outside Saudi Arabia and is unlikely to show up.
In 2013 her film "Wadjda" became the Kingdom's first to be listed as a candidate for a foreign-language Oscar, although it did not make the final shortlist. It told the story of a rebellious girl who dreams of owning a bicycle.
Without cinemas, "sadly there is no way" to show such films publicly in Saudi Arabia, Al-Mulla said, though many end up on video websites such as YouTube. Others are sometimes featured at small, special screenings.
Saudi Arabia has no film industry to speak of, said Al-Eyaf. "The whole system is not there," Eyaf said, adding that having a festival is "one of the most important things" in trying to develop a film culture.
This year's event comes seven years after the first Saudi Film Festival, which Al-Mulla also directed. He said this year's festival was organized "in the right way" by the Society for Culture and Arts, a nongovernmental group where he volunteers.
Al-Mulla expects an overflow audience at the society's 600-capacity screening hall on Friday's opening night.
The festival received more than 120 film submissions, of which around 66 met the requirements to be shown, including that they be less than 59 minutes long and cannot have been shown on YouTube or on television.
"We received a lot of nice films," Al-Mulla said, adding that 10 will have their premieres at the festival, where the screenings will be free and open to the public.
Thirty-four scripts which have not yet been produced will also vie for a Golden Palm Tree trophy.
The winning scriptwriters and filmmakers will get grants to help fund future projects, from a prize pool totaling SR180,000.
Al-Mulla said the festival entries cover a wide range of subjects including crime, society and history. There is even an animated movie and a "very strong" film about human rights.
He said that while the festival must ensure it respects Saudi Arabia's culture and traditions, there is no formal censorship. "I think we can screen anything political," he said.
Al-Mulla said he hopes cinemas will one day open in the Kingdom because film is "part of culture, part of loving life."
But first, he said, film lovers will need to convince "people who are scared of art and culture."
n AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
‘World needs to see Kingdom through Saudi films’
‘World needs to see Kingdom through Saudi films’
KSrelief sends aid to Sudan and Pakistan
- Agency provided 956 food parcels, benefitting nearly 5,500 people in Sudan
- Nearly 600 shelter kits distributed in Pakistan's Gwadar to 4,000 people
Saudi Arabian aid agency KSrelief distributed hundreds of food aid packages and shelter kits to thousands most in need in Sudan and Pakistan, state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday.
The agency provided 956 food parcels, benefitting nearly 5,500 people in Sudan, while nearly 600 shelter kits were distributed in the Gwadar district of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, benefitting more than 4,000 people.
The assistance is part of a series of relief and humanitarian projects implemented by KSrelief across the world.
Saudi, Japan discuss ties at Vision 2030 business forum in Tokyo
- Focus on mutual investment growth, says Saudi official
- Manufacturing, entertainment and health are key areas
TOKYO: The Saudi Arabia-Japan Vision 2030 Business Forum began in Tokyo on Tuesday with over 300 industry officials and leaders set to discuss ways to boost trade, investment and cultural ties.
In her keynote speech, Sara Al-Sayed, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of international partnerships at the Ministry of Investment, outlined plans for further collaboration between the two nations.
“Under the Saudi-Japan Vision 2030, we aim to take this partnership to a new level,” she said. “We want to leverage our mutual strengths, drive sustainable mutual economic growth, enhance technological innovation, and promote cultural exchange. We will be able to unlock the potential to expand the Japan partnership to be a key driver of growth.”
She added: “We have noticed in the last decade the strength of the partnership between Saudi Arabia and Japan. Over the last decade alone, the number of companies that have been established in Saudi Arabia by the Japanese has doubled and we have over 50 headquarters that have been established in Saudi Arabia. This forum will act as a catalyst to accelerate this growth and translate interest into investment.”
Sessions at the forum include “Forging stronger manufacturing collaboration between KSA and Japan,” “Collaboration in the new era of sustainability and circular economy,” “Reinventing entertainment and gaming industries across borders,” and “Expanding the area of cooperation in healthcare.”
KSrelief sends aid to Sudan and Pakistan
Saudi Arabian aid agency KSrelief distributed hundreds of food aid packages and shelter kits to thousands most in need in Sudan and Pakistan, state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday.
The agency provided 956 food parcels, benefitting nearly 5,500 people in Sudan, while nearly 600 shelter kits were distributed in the Gwadar district of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, benefitting more than 4,000 people.
The assistance is part of a series of relief and humanitarian projects implemented by KSrelief across the world.
KSrelief to install water desalination plant at Mogadishu hospital
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aid organization KSrelief on Monday signed an agreement to install a water desalination plant at the kidney dialysis center of Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu.
The initiative in Somalia’s capital will benefit 270 individuals.
KSrelief’s Assistant Supervisor-General of Operations and Programs Ahmed bin Ali Al-Baiz signed the agreement at the center’s headquarters in Riyadh.
Elsewhere, KSrelief on Saturday distributed 585 shelter bags in Gwadar district in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, benefiting 4,095 families in the flood-affected areas.
The program is a part of KSrelief’s third phase of support for vulnerable people in Pakistan.
Also, KSrelief on Saturday distributed 956 food baskets to displaced families in the north of Sudan, benefiting 5,497 individuals. This is a part of the second phase of KSrelief’s food-security project in the country.
Digital wellbeing summit at Ithra to confront technology’s dangers, advantages
- Event at Ithra will have over 110 digital experts, 70 speakers from 20 countries
DHAHRAN: After a two-year hiatus, the second Sync Digital Wellbeing Summit 2024 returns to the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, or Ithra, this week for discussions and debates by world-leading experts.
Scheduled for May 22 and 23, Ithra will be buzzing with all things that merge technology and wellness, and will feature 110 digital experts and 70 speakers from 20 countries.
“The Sync Summit 2024 is not just another conference. It’s a platform for meaningful discussions, critical reflections, and collective actions for a better digital future,” said Wadha Al-Nafjan, head of digital wellbeing at Sync. “As we navigate the digital paradox, it is vital to recognize our responsibility in shaping the world we want to live in.”
Topics including algorithmic homogenization and identity loss, AI’s impact on the creative industries, and misinformation will be tackled under the theme “Confronting the Digital Paradox.”
The summit will be held at the Ithra headquarters in Dhahran, with a live stream available.
Day one, organized around the sub-theme “Cuts Both Ways: Wrestling with the Tensions of the Digital Era,” includes seven panels, two fireside chats and two keynote talks.
It’s a platform for meaningful discussions, critical reflections, and collective actions for a better digital future.
Wadha Al-Nafjan, Head of digital wellbeing at Sync
Day two, centering on the sub-theme “A Digital Renaissance: Shaping Our Relationship with Digital for a Better Future,” will have eight panels and three keynotes. In addition, it will have the Sync Spotlight series finale, for which creative influencer Omar Farooq will screen his new documentary, “The Dark Side of Japan.”
Although there was no summit last year at Ithra, the Sync team conducted extensive research globally that led to some compelling findings.
According to their research, 81 percent of those surveyed are concerned about the unsolicited collection of their personal data, 53 percent struggle to maintain boundaries between their work and personal lives, while 66 percent believe that the internet needs more regulation. About 73 percent of participants think social media was designed to be addictive.
Furthermore, the average time spent online daily has gone down, compared with 2021. About 68 percent claim to understand AI, 87 percent think technology is allowing people to work and study more flexibly, and 91 percent use digital devices to access resources including books and tutorials.
“Never before has the world been so connected to everything and everyone. We know technology has improved our lives, but it also has the painful potential to distract and harm,” Ithra said in a statement to Arab News. The summit’s activities are geared toward “ensuring that we as humans come together to keep digital technology in check and working towards the greater good, safeguarding its future, and our own.”
The event will bridge the gap between academic research, industry practices, and end-users regarding digital wellbeing through a variety of sessions.
Sync Spotlight
A series of sessions will run in parallel to the two-day Sync Summit stage program, offering greater interaction between speakers and audience members.
Sync Action Forum
The worldwide Gen Alpha Forum, an initiative developed by Sync Research with McCann Worldgroup, will see the community expand to include Saudi Arabia parents of Gen Alpha children, as well as educators, and other Gen Alpha stakeholders.
Majlis
In partnership with Johns Hopkins, which has a local hospital at Aramco, the Majlis will host three sessions exploring digital wellbeing with educators, researchers and students.
The Plaza
The gamified experience will dive into the findings compiled by the Sync Research team through the lens of three projects which were developed with partners Horizon Group, PSB and McCann Worldgroup.
Sync Immersive
In this interactive journey, the organizers promise to provide a three-step experience designed to impact participants’ emotions and understanding, while guiding them into navigating the complexities of digital ethics.
Podcast
The booth experience will serve both as a studio to record live podcast episodes hosted by Mo Gawdat, formerly of Google, and as a multi-functional space for hosting media interviews. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Islam, host of the English-language podcast, The Mo Show, will also be present.
Other notable speakers this year include US data scientist and AI specialist Rumman Chowdhury; Saudi Arabia athlete, FIFA World Champion and owner of an esports team, Abdulaziz Alshehri; and Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.
One May 21, Ithra will host the Global Digital Wellbeing Assembly, a gathering of experts from across the Kingdom and the globe to discuss the guiding objectives and roadmap for a new digital wellbeing society.
Registration is now open and attendance is free.
