JEDDAH: The British Council launched the “Small Screen, Short Film” festival on November 28, the first short film festival for young and ambitious filmmakers in the region.
Young filmmakers from the GCC can apply to the program whether they are residents or citizens, or citizens living in the UK. They can participate by creating a short film that does not exceed three minutes via their smartphones.
The British Council official Twitter account tweeted on December 1: “Think you can make a great short film using your smartphone or tablet? Then check Small Screen, Big Film, a filmmaking competition and online film festival for filmmakers in the Gulf or Gulf nationals living in the UK.”
The official account of British Council also tweeted: “Aged 14-25 and from the Gulf? The first ever Gulf smartphone film festival is now open for entries! 2 categories with 20 films screened online in March. Visit: http://bit.ly/SmallScreenBigFilm … | #keepitshort #competition”
Rehana Mughal, the British Council’s senior program manager for culture and sport in the Gulf, told Arab News: “Short films are a work of fiction; it can be based on reality; or drama or comedy, and can be in either animation or live action.”
She added: “The medium of short film allows for ease of making and the equipment of a smartphone or tablet means most people have access. “
To help filmmakers develop their entries, the British Council has partnered with IntoFilm, a British film-based educational charity, to create a step-by-step smartphone film guide, available for download from the festival website.
The competition also has a jury of renowned GCC and UK filmmakers who will shortlist films to be screened to a global audience during the online festival from March 15-25, 2018.
Jury members already confirmed include Emirati director Abdulla Al Kaabi, best known for his recent critically acclaimed film “Only Men Go to the Grave” (2017); Academy Award and four time BAFTA award-winning British filmmaker Asif Kapadia, whose documentaries “Amy” (2015) and “Senna” (2010) won him high praise; and English actress and writer, Amy Lowe, will also be among the jury.
Of the shortlisted films to be screened in March 2018 during the festival, four winners will be selected to receive one-on-one workshops with UK film talent.
Speaking of the program launch, Amir Ramzan, Saudi Arabia country director at the British Council, said: “Over our years in the Gulf, we’ve seen a growing passion among young people toward sport and culture in their communities, and have created the culture and sport program to provide a platform to support and grow this talent. We believe that everyone should be able to reap the benefits that being involved in sporting and cultural activities can bring, the idea being to help young people understand that you don’t necessarily have to be an artist or a footballer to be successful in this field and that there are many exciting career opportunities in these sectors.”
British Council dares GCC youth to make films with smartphones
British Council dares GCC youth to make films with smartphones
Kingdom key player in regional peace, EU official says
- Hana Jalloul Muro highlights Riyadh’s role in regional stability, economic growth and advancing EU-Saudi strategic ties
Riyadh: Hana Jalloul Muro, vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, has praised Saudi Arabia’s role as a “reliable partner” to the EU.
Describing the Kingdom as a “key international actor,” she highlighted its pivotal role in regional stability, including brokering peace talks on Ukraine, promoting peace in Palestine, and supporting stable governments in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.
“Saudi is a reliable partner because it is a country that has demonstrated that with Vision 2030, only in the last five, six years, it has changed impressively. It has a major women’s labor force, a very low youth unemployment rate and is growing very fast,” Muro told Arab News.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, she added: “Saudi Arabia is becoming a key major player in the international arena now — for peace conversations on Ukraine, supporting the Syrian government, paying Syria’s external debt, stabilizing the government in Lebanon, promoting peace in Gaza, in Palestine and pushing for a ceasefire, too.
“So, I think it is a very key international actor, very important in the region for stability,” Muro added.
Explaining why she considers the Kingdom a reliable partner, Muro said: “It’s a country that knows how to see to the East and to the West.”
Muro also serves as the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Saudi Arabia, and is responsible for drafting reports on legislative and budgetary proposals and other key bilateral issues.
In mid-December 2025, the European Parliament endorsed a road map to elevate EU-Saudi relations into a full-fledged strategic partnership, which Saudi Ambassador to the EU Haifa Al-Jedea described as “an important milestone” in bilateral ties.
The report highlighted the possibility of Saudi-EU visa-free travel, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to advancing a safe, mutually beneficial visa-free arrangement with the five GCC countries to ensure equal treatment under the new EU visa strategy.
“One of the key hot topics is the visa waiver to Saudi Arabia, which I always support,” Muro said. “Saudi Arabia has, as you are aware, been in cascade for five years, and I think we need to work toward a visa waiver.”
The report also highlighted the economic significance of Saudi tourists to EU member states, particularly for the hospitality, retail and cultural sectors, while emphasizing that Saudi citizens do not pose a source of irregular migration pressure.
When asked about the status of the visa waiver, Muro said: “The approval, it is the recommendation to the commission to take into account its importance. We need to advance on that because we are in the framework of this strategic partnership agreement that covers many topics, so this is why the visa waiver is a central key issue.”
She added: “I think by now we recognize the international role of Saudi Arabia and how important it is to us as a neighbor — not only for security, counter-terrorism and energy, but for everything. We need to get closer to partners like the GCC, Saudi specifically.
“And I think that we need to take Saudi Arabia as a very big ally of ours,” Muro said.
During her time in Riyadh, Muro took part in a panel at the forum focused on the EU-KSA business and investment dialogue, and advancing the critical raw materials value chain.
On the sidelines, she met Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji to discuss ways to further strengthen Saudi-EU relations.
She also met Hala Al-Tuwaijri, chairwoman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, saying: “I have to congratulate you and the government, your country, on doing a great job.”
