The Sultanate of Oman continues, on Thursday, the activities of an art festival aimed at attracting international filmmakers and promoting natural landmarks and the desert environment, especially in the winter, under the name “International Film and Desert Festival.”
The festival, which began on Wednesday and continues until February 10, is organized by the Omani Cinema Association in the state of Bidiya in the North Al Sharqiyah Governorate, and displays 65 films, from 18 countries, including the UAE (guest of honor).
UAE is guest of honour
Regarding the choice of his country as guest of honour, Emirati director Nasser Al Dhaheri said: “We were very happy with this choice, and it is not new for our brothers in Oman to honor the Emirates, and for it to be a guest of honor at the first film festival dedicated to the desert. The idea is beautiful and noble at the same time.”
The festival aims to raise the efficiency of filmmaking in the Sultanate and promote the Omani desert winter.
The festival includes 13 international documentaries, 12 Omani documentaries, in addition to 34 international feature films, and six Omani feature films.
Attracting an elite group of artists
The festival director, Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Rasbi, said at the opening, which was held at the Bidiya Public Park Theater, that the Film and Desert Festival comes to reveal the aesthetics of the Omani desert, its components, and ways of living in it according to its customs and traditions.
He added that the festival sought to attract an elite group of artists skilled in Arab and international cinema, to produce a series of short films about the Omani desert and the diversity and richness it contains.
During the past few years, the Omani Film Association has worked to establish a series of film festivals in various governorates, with the aim of supporting the promising cinema sector in the Sultanate, and developing investment opportunities in the film industry and co-production.
Spreading cinematic culture
Hamid Al Ameri, President of the International Film and Desert Festival in North Al Sharqiyah, and President of the Omani Cinema Society, said: “Through this festival, we aim to promote the governorates, states and film villages, as well as to spread cinematic culture in society. The festival also constitutes an incentive for filmmakers to present cinematic works.”
For her part, Habiba Al-Salti, an Omani artist and member of the feature film jury, says: “The Film and Desert Festival is the first festival held by the Cinema Society that embraces sand and also embraces sand. I am very happy to be here. Our goal with this festival is to document the tourist areas in the Sultanate.”
Activities are not limited to cinematic events, but also include undertaking exploratory trips to the Omani desert. In addition to the daily screenings of participating films, dialogue sessions are held with festival guests, in addition to the “Discover the Desert of the Sultanate of Oman and Make Your Film” event, which is an opportunity to discover the golden sands of Bidiya and benefit from them in… Preparing the script and filming in the desert environment, which represents a pristine environment for artists in various fields of cinema.