The five-day festival was only the second
in seven years, and aired films at an arts and cultural center in the Gulf
coast city of Dammam.
A female Saudi filmmaker won an award for best drama at the Saudi Film Festival, the chief juror said Wednesday, hailing a higher quality of entries despite the kingdom's cinema ban.
At the awards ceremony on Tuesday night, Hana al-Omair took the Golden Palm Tree prize for her drama "Complain", said Abdullah al-Eyaf, the head of the festival jury. Another woman, Shaheed Ameen, won second prize in the drama category for "Eye & Mermaid. Then came next Mohanna Abdullah who took third place for his film "Adam's Ant", the story of a prisoner who tries to befriend an ant in his cell.
In 2013 the film "Wadjda", by Saudi female filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, became the country's first to be listed as a candidate for a foreign-language Oscar, although it did not make the final shortlist.
At this year's Saudi Film Festival, the Golden Palm Tree for best documentary went to Faisal al-Otaibi for "Grand Marriage".
In the student category, Mohammed al-Faraj also earned one of the golden stylized palm tree trophies for "Lost," a documentary about stateless people living in Saudi Arabia and Abbas al-Hayek took top prize for best-unproduced script.
A female Saudi filmmaker won an award for best drama at the Saudi Film Festival, the chief juror said Wednesday, hailing a higher quality of entries despite the kingdom's cinema ban.
At the awards ceremony on Tuesday night, Hana al-Omair took the Golden Palm Tree prize for her drama "Complain", said Abdullah al-Eyaf, the head of the festival jury. Another woman, Shaheed Ameen, won second prize in the drama category for "Eye & Mermaid. Then came next Mohanna Abdullah who took third place for his film "Adam's Ant", the story of a prisoner who tries to befriend an ant in his cell.
In 2013 the film "Wadjda", by Saudi female filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, became the country's first to be listed as a candidate for a foreign-language Oscar, although it did not make the final shortlist.
At this year's Saudi Film Festival, the Golden Palm Tree for best documentary went to Faisal al-Otaibi for "Grand Marriage".
In the student category, Mohammed al-Faraj also earned one of the golden stylized palm tree trophies for "Lost," a documentary about stateless people living in Saudi Arabia and Abbas al-Hayek took top prize for best-unproduced script.
The kingdom practices a strict version of Islam that does not permit conventional entertainment places such as film theatres. It is the only country where women are not allowed to drive. The sexes are strictly segregated, prompting critics on Twitter to complain after photographs showed men and women freely mixing at the film festival. Organizers said they hoped the festival would open eyes in Saudi Arabia to the possibilities of film despite objections from some conservatives that cinema would "Westernize" the kingdom or corrupt its morals.
Eyaf and his jury selected the winning productions from among more than 60 entrants.
Eyaf, prize-winning filmmaker, said Saudi Arabia itself has emerged a winner "for having all this talent"
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