Forbidden relationships, drug use and the difficulties in learning English were some of the themes of the movie which won awards on the last day of the Jeddah Film Festival, Friday. The JFF is the third festival of its kind in the Kingdom and was held at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Out of 44 films 38 competed for awards in different categories similar to that of the Academy Awards for Hollywood; best director, best documentary, etc. Local celebrities were present to judge the event despite conspicuous absence of actors from the movies being judged. Khaled Al-Tukhaim, and Ahmed Al-Simairi, both of Saudi TV, and Abdu Khal, a writer and novelist were among the judges handing out awards on the last day of the festival. Bahraini actress, Amira Mohammed attended the event and she said she was surprised by the scale of the event. “I'm totally astonished to see such a big event in Jeddah,” the Bahraini actress told Saudi Gazette. She said the festival would surely help Saudis create a large-scale cinema industry. “I'm so proud of everyone who worked so hard to make this festival work. These films were done so professionally and they were amazing.” Awadh Abdullah, a Saudi actor, said that he did not expect to see talented Saudi directors, actors and producers participating in the festival. “We know about cinema festivals in Cairo and Bahrain, but it is good to see a Saudi cinema festival with films that have Saudi national themes,” he added. Bandar Al-Yami, director of Najran Fi Sotour (Najran in Brief) picked up the award of Best Director. He said he just wanted to take part and did not hope to win a prize. “There were many obstacles to overcome like finding the right equipment, but this prize will encourage me to make better films and take part in future festivals,” he said. Mamdouh Salem, organizer for the JFF said many of the Saudi celebrities were outside of the Kingdom in production for shows to be aired in Ramadan. Much of the hall used for screening the films remained empty for most of the day except for the 150 people who showed up intermittently. Salem said the lackluster attendance was not due to people showing little interest, but more so due to the length of time the films were screened at. Saleh said films were screened from 5 P.M to 1:30 A.M. “People came and saw some films then they went. Others came and so on. This went on and there were so many free seats,” he told Saudi Gazette. A Saudi film industry could solve a lot of the unemployment problems which the country is facing said Rashed Al-Shamrani, who has a PhD in psychotherapy. “Cinema can't help but absorb unemployed youth but only if we have specialized cinema academies,” Al-Shamrani said. “With these skilled young people I'm very optimistic that a professional cinema industry is on the way. You will definitely see this in the near future as these young people know exactly what to do, and this is what really pleases me,” he said referring to the movies screened at the festival. Mohammad Hamza, a Saudi actor said he was optimistic about what festivals like the JFF can bring to the Kingdom. However he said he felt as though the culture stifles creativity. “We have suffered creatively because of these 50-year-old barriers. It's true that we hear from time to time about promising attempts, but we have seen nothing serious so far,” Hamza said. “Cinema is an important art in people's lives. It's not like we want to create this outlet for vice. When the power of cinema is abused, it's the people themselves who did it not the actual work,” he said. Best Editor – Halat Lams (A State of Touch) Director: Majed Al-Robai'an Run time: 26.15 minutes Best Cartoon - Ma'bad Al-Ramad (Beyond Ash) Director: Jassim Al-Aqeeli Run time – 9.9 minutes Best documentary - Najran Fi Sotour (Najran in Brief) Director: Bandar Al-Yami Run time – 31.18 minutes Best Director – Majed Al-Robai'an Film: Tawahan (Perplexity) Run time: 35.22 minutes Best Narrative Short film - Baqaiya Ta'am (Food Leftovers) Director: Mousa Al-Thuniyan Run time: 5 minutes __
