Seventy-four short films, as well as three feature-length films, from 25 countries are set to be screened at this year’s Bahrain Film Festival (BFF), kicking off tomorrow.
The five-day festival, which will take place at two locations in the Seef area, received a total of 430 film submissions from around the world. Of these, 49 have been shortlisted for five awards and 25 additional short films will be shown outside of competition, in addition to three feature-length films – one Saudi and two Russian flicks.
“The last iteration of the Bahrain Film Festival was on a much smaller scale because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” BFF technical/artistic director Ammar Zainal told the GDN.
Bigger
“This year, we are going bigger and have had a great response globally. The festival is focused primarily on short films and our jury picked 49 films out of the 430 submissions we received.
“In addition, our opening ceremony will include the screening of Kayan – a Saudi horror film, directed by Hakeem Jomah, who will be attending alongside a few members of the crew.”
BFF 2022 is being held under the patronage of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, in collaboration with the Bahrain Cinema Club.
The opening ceremony will take place at Cinema 1 in Seef Mall at 6pm, followed by the Kayan screening.
Alongside the films, the festival will also feature workshops and seminars at the Fraser Suites Seef.
A three-day workshop, ‘Beginner’s Guide to Script Writing’, conducted by director, producer and writer Bassem Al Thawadi, will be held from October 16-18. It will kick off at 11am.
On October 16, a seminar about ‘Intellectual Property Rights’ by lawyer Faten Al Haddad will take place at 4pm.
On October 17, 18 and 19, from 4pm to 9pm, Professor Jacqueline Gray Miller will conduct a three-day workshop about ‘Financial Planning for the Motion Picture Industry’.
On October 17, from 4pm to 6pm, MBC Talent casting manager will be conducting a session about ‘Finding the Right Talent for Your Film.’
There will also be two Russian feature films. Comedy Son of A Rich – the highest-grossing Russian film of all time – will be screened on October 17 at 8pm, and ballet drama Bolshoi centred on a young ballerina’s path to success will be shown on October 18 at 8pm.
“Bahrain is an important Russian partner in the Arab world, and we plan to expand our cultural interaction with the kingdom,” added Inna Shalyto, chief executive of Roskino, the state body in charge of distributing Russian films worldwide.
“Being part of the Bahrain Film Festival and showing modern Russian films is another step towards the popularisation of Russian cinema and our talent in the region.”
The 49 shortlisted films will be competing for five coveted awards, including the Khalifa Shaheen Award for Best Short Narrative Film, Bader Abukhamseen Award for Best Short Animation Film, Abdulrahman Al-Rowaie Award for Best Short Documentary Film, Fareed Ramadan Award for Best Short Bahraini Film and the Jury Award.
All the films will be screened at Halls 11, 12 or 14 at Cinema 1 in Seef Mall.
Eight Bahraini films are being screened at the festival including Hidden Ambassadors, Teeh Alhamam, The Sound of Feather, Salam, The Show, The Start of Palm Trees Era, Taken and Wajba.
In addition, there will be Egyptian, Iraqi, Sudanese, Emirati, Moroccan, Saudi, Tunisian, Yemeni, Jordanian, Palestinian and Syrian short films screened throughout the festival.
All the films will be subtitled in English and panels of top filmmakers from across the Arab World will be evaluating each of them to determine who gets the coveted BFF awards.
The festival will conclude on October 19.
- For a detailed schedule as well as more information, follow @filmfestivalbh on Instagram.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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