The festival returns after four years of hiatus due to the Corona pandemic and the popular movement that Algeria witnessed in 2019.
Through this cinematic event, Algeria seeks to give a new breath to Algerian cinema, after reviewing the map of festivals and the cinema law, and dusting off the cinematographic industry, which Algeria today views as one of the important tools to support the economy and encourage tourism.
The Turkish director was chosen to give a strong impetus to the festival’s return, given his distinguished cinematic career, as Belge had previously won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 for his film “Winter Hibernation”, in addition to many international awards.
He previously participated in the jury of the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival in 2009.
This year, Bilge is competing for the Oscar as representative of Turkish cinema with his feature film “On Dry Grasses.”
The head of the Annaba Mediterranean Film Festival, Mohamed Allal, said: “The participation of big names in the international cinema scene is a great addition to any festival.”
The festival’s president confirmed that Blige received the Annaba Festival’s invitation with pleasure, which reflects the importance and value of the Algerian cinematic event, which seeks to return with a new vision.
Allal said: “In addition to Nuri Balij Ceylan, there will be prominent names in the seventh art on the jury, including international award winners, whose names will be announced later.”
The Annaba Festival awards the Golden Deer Award, with a financial value of $15,000, and this year 15 feature films will compete for it, while 18 films will participate in the official short film competition.
