Saudi cinema pioneer Haifaa Al-Mansour accepts special award at Saudi Film Festival
DHAHRAN: Acclaimed Saudi cinema pioneer Haifaa Al-Mansour took to the stage at the Saudi Film Festival on Wednesday night to accept a special award, praising the “Herculean efforts” of the Kingdom’s Cinema Association.
“This honor means a lot to me — not only because it is a Saudi festival that celebrates locals’ voices and stems from Ithra, a place that supports us as Saudi filmmakers, and the Cinema Association for all of their Herculean efforts — but because I’m a girl from Sharqiya,” Al-Mansour said on stage.
Held at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, known as Ithra, this year’s SFF theme is, fittingly, “Cinema of the Journey,” and what a journey Al-Mansour has been on.
As one of the leading pioneers in Saudi and Arab cinema, her distinctive cinematic voice has helped to shape the contemporary film scene in the Kingdom.
