DUBAI: Saudi filmmakers Hana Alfasi, Maram Taibah, and sister duo Raneem and Dana Almohandes showcased snippets of their upcoming short films — which are being created as part of the ‘AlUla Creates: Film Program’ platform — to a select audience of industry professionals this week at the Saudi pavilion during the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
Alfasi, director of “When the Shelves Hymn,” told Arab News: “It’s a great opportunity to have industry professionals attend a screening of a scene from our new short film.
Raneem and Dana Almohandes. (AN/ Ammar Abd Rabbo)
“We hope this film will find its way to A-list festivals, gaining the spotlight it deserves through screenings like the one we’re having today,” she added.
Alfasi hopes that the screening will connect her and her team with more professionals as she prepares to direct a feature film, for which she will need additional financial funding and support.
Taibah’s “Malika” is a short fantasy film about a young girl who goes on an adventure to find her dying grandmother’s lost crown, only to discover unexpected parts of herself, the filmmaker said.
Maram Taiba (L). (AN/ Ammar Abd Rabbo)
“I’m very proud of what we made. It was such a delightful process to work with such talented visionaries starting from my producer, cinematographer, and casting director to the postproduction team,” Taibah said.
Taibah believes that Saudi Arabia has many untold stories.
“Each filmmaker in Saudi is showing one piece of the tapestry and mine shows the magical side of our culture and the treasured relationships we have with our grannies,” she said. “I hope to share the magic of the film and raise anticipation for the completed piece here in Cannes.”
The Almohandes sisters felt “honored” to showcase their movie “Mosquito” to industry experts.
“Since the beginning of our careers, we always looked forward to showing our films at Cannes and here we are and we’re extremely grateful to the AlUla Creates program for making this happen,” they said.
The sisters just wrapped up the post-production phase of their animated film, which is about an ambitious mosquito who wants to become the Umm Kulthum of the mosquito world, and she goes on a journey to make her dream come true.
Raneem and Dana have big dreams themselves.
“Our dream is to show our stories and share our voices with international audiences,” they said.
“It’s just the beginning with this short film and we aim to have the first Saudi musical here at Cannes very soon.”
