Muscat – Muhammad Saad
The Omani Cinema Association and the organizing committee of the Second Al Sharqiya International Film Festival revealed the details of the activities accompanying the festival, and the date of its launch on the eleventh of next January for a period of 4 days, with the participation of a group of artists and movie stars from within the Sultanate of Oman, the Gulf countries, and the Arab world.
This came during the press conference held this morning (Saturday) at the Youth Preparation Center of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth in the South Al Sharqiyah Governorate in the Wilayat of Sur, in the presence of Dr. Hamid Al Ameri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Omani Cinema Society, and a number of artists, filmmakers and representatives of various media outlets.
During the conference, Dr. Hamid Al Ameri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Omani Cinema Society and President of the Festival, confirmed that the Society strives to spread cinematic culture and create a cinematic movement throughout the Sultanate of Oman through film festivals in various governorates, and the Al Sharqiyah International Film Festival comes in its second edition in the Wilayat of Sur in conjunction with Declaring it as the capital of Arab tourism in 2024, the festival is also considered a platform for introducing the cultural, civilizational, artistic and historical diversity that is unique to the Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah, spreading cinematic culture, promoting the Sultanate of Oman cinematically, and discovering talent in the fields of filmmaking, whether in writing, directing or acting.
The festival president then thanked the Ain platform at the Ministry of Information for its continued support of the festivals of the Omani Cinema Association, the Omani Liquefied Natural Gas Company, and OMEFCO for the strategic cooperation in organizing and supporting the festival, and added that the State of Kuwait will be the guest cinema at the festival.
Then Anwar Al-Ruzaiqi, Director of the Al-Sharqiyah International Film Festival, launched the festival’s logo and talked about its meanings. He said: The choice of this logo came as a combination of the legacies, history, industries, tourist and archaeological areas that characterize the South Al-Sharqiyah Governorate, in addition to the symbolism of cinema, as the logo included the shape of old windows in Castles, forts, towers and ships located in the South Al Sharqiyah Governorate. The icon of the festival is also represented by the old cinema screen and projector. The waves of land and ships that characterize the governorate are also mentioned, and the name of the festival in its second edition.
During the conference, Al-Ruzaiqi explained about the festival’s jury, which was formed from specialists, artists, and those working in the cinematic aspect from inside and outside the Sultanate of Oman. He stated: “Professor Walid Ahmed Darwish from the Syrian Arab Republic will participate in the short fiction film jury as chairman of the committee, and Dr. Hussam Al-Din Mustafa will be a member.” Dagher from the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the artist Khamis Al-Rawahi from the Sultanate of Oman.
Gavin Li from the People’s Republic of China will also participate in the jury for short documentaries, as chairman of the committee, and Hussein Al Khawalid from the State of Kuwait and Dr. Janan Al Issa from the Sultanate of Oman will also participate in the jury.
In the short animated films category, Iman Fares from the Republic of Iraq participates in the jury as head of the committee, and Dina Sharif from the Arab Republic of Egypt and Saud Fayel Al-Araimi from the Sultanate of Oman are members.
Participating in the jury for the unexecuted scenario is writer Laila Al Hamdoun, head of the committee, and screenwriter Qaiser Salem as a member.
In its second edition, the festival will also host a number of artists in the field of film industry, including the distinguished artist Ibrahim Al-Sallal, the artist Khaled Amin, and the social media activist Khairallah Al-Anazi from the State of Kuwait, the artist Khalil Al-Rumaithi from the Kingdom of Bahrain, the artist Dina Mohsen Wizo, and the artist Mustafa Masoud Ramadan from The Arab Republic of Egypt, and social media activist Enas Muhammad from the United Arab Emirates.
The number of films participating in the festival reached 255 films from 35 countries around the world, of which 36 films qualified, including 20 international films and 16 Omani films.
Regarding the festival’s programme, Anwar Al-Ruzaiqi said: On its first day, the ceremony’s program will include an introductory tour for the festival’s guests in the Wilayat of Sur and the festival’s opening ceremony at the traditional ship factory, accompanied by the opening of the Al-Washar Shipbuilding Museum. The festival will continue its activities on the second day with the inauguration of Sur Cinema and a review of the Kuwaiti cinema experience and the Chinese cinema experience. A number of films were shown in addition to the films participating in the competition, and then a tourist trip to the villages of Al-Madfuna, Al-Hidd and Al-Jinz, and the second day concluded with watching turtles in the Turtle Nature Reserve.
Al-Ruzaiqi added: On the third day, the Al-Washar symposium will start as part of the festival’s activities, and a working paper on investing in tourist sites and the economy of events will be presented by Amira Al-Balushi, and a workshop on documentary films and their role in promoting archaeological places and sites will be presented by Dr. Rashid Al-Yafei. The day will then be completed with screenings of participating films, an artist session, and a march. .
On the fourth day of the festival, participants embark on a visit to the old Souq Souq and a visit to the dagger factory and the Omani sweets factory, followed by an artistic session with a number of film directors participating in the festival. In the evening, the festival concludes its activities with a ceremony honoring the winning films, participants, and visual content makers from the people of the South Al Sharqiyah Governorate.
Regarding the festival’s award categories, Al-Ruzaiqi said: The awards are distributed in 6 categories with 12 awards, which are the Best (Omani) Narrative Film Award, the Best (International) Narrative Film Award, and the (Special) Jury Award for the Omani and International Short Narrative Film Competition category.
In the category of the Omani and International Short Documentary Film Competition, the award for the best documentary film (Omani), the award for the best documentary film (international), and the jury award (special).
Short Animation Film Competition Category: Best Animation Film Award and Best Screenplay Award.
And in the category of Animation Film Competition for Institutions, the award for the Best Animation Film for Institutions.
Oman Shalouni festival theme competition, the best film award in the festival theme presented by the Ministry of Information (Ain platform), the (special) jury award.
Unexecuted Screenplay Competition, Best Unexecuted Screenplay Award.
After the conference, Dr. Hamid Al Ameri honored the participants in the screenwriting workshop from script to idea, which was accompanying the activities of the Second Al Sharqiyah International Film Festival. The participating and qualified scenarios will participate in the festival competition in the category of the best unexecuted screenplay for Omani films. The workshop aims to train and qualify young people in skills. Film script writing techniques.
