DHAHRAN: With the red carpet now rolled up once more following the conclusion of the star-studded 12th Saudi Film Festival, the festival’s vice president and cultural consultant to the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), Tariq Al-Khawaji, is optimistic about the Saudi film scene.
“I think the difference this time, with the 12th SFF edition, is that both parties — Ithra and the Festival — have become bigger than the role of the host and the producer; there is an integrated relationship and there is very high-level coordination between us,” Al-Khawaji told Arab News. “We met weekly for six months, and this has even changed the quality of the films presented.”
Since its launch in 2008, the Saudi Film Festival has served as a key driver of Saudi and Gulf cinema and is the longest-running film festival in the Kingdom. After several gaps that spanned seven years, SFF has now become an annual event.
A total of 50 films were screened this year, 20 of which were world premieres. As in previous years, there was a special focus on cinema from a non-Saudi country. This year, it was Korea.
“It was important for us to show films from the East, because we all know the Western films. Honestly, Saudi viewers probably only became fully aware of Korean films after the (2019) film ‘Parasite,’ and other blockbuster hits that have captivated the international gaze,” Al-Khawaji said. “But we found that what was absent in the region, for a very long time, were those pockets of other interesting Eastern stories, not just the big hits. And, honestly, that side of the world is ripe with stories that are somewhat closer to us culturally.”
