The Dutch Embassy is screening Saudi films during the two-day Falcon Arts Festival, which started on Tuesday night at the embassy premises in the Diplomatic Quarter.
Thirty-one Saudi movies and two international films will be shown on multiple screens.
“Although cinemas have only been reopened recently, the Saudi filmmaking industry has already made quite a name for itself on the international stage,” Joost Reintjes, Dutch ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News.
Last year, the Dutch Embassy organized the Golden Falcon Film Festival for the first time.
Its success led to the organization of this year’s festival, whose new name reflects a wider range of arts than just film, said Reintjes.
“We’re very happy to offer a wide range of films, from documentaries to animation,” he added. Many are produced by young, promising Saudi talents.
The Kingdom is rediscovering itself with fantastic initiatives, and its people have inherited a cultural wealth that should make them very proud, he said.
“We’re very happy to see this trend continue and to contribute to it, at least to a small extent, with the Falcon Arts Festival,” he added.
The festival includes musical performances and graffiti art, said Alex van Dongen, a policy officer at the embassy.
“Through this year’s edition we hope to contribute, at least to a small extent, to the creative boom of the Saudi entertainment sector,” he added.
The festival starts at 7:30 p.m. on both days, and online registration is required for entrance.
“As I experienced during my time as a cultural attache in Indonesia and Turkey, movies are a great way to connect people,” Jeroen Gankema, the festival’s director, said.
“With the Falcon Arts Festival, we hope that we’re able to contribute to the development of the Saudi creative sector,” he said.
“The Netherlands is a creative country, and it’s our goal to stimulate cultural cooperation and exchange of ideas between our two countries.”
Hans Treffers, head of the jury for the Golden Falcon Award, said: “The quality of films to be screened at the festival are exceptional, they add to the popular Saudi film sector, which is widely appreciated and respected in international film festivals,” he added.
The Netherlands is known for being a home to creative industries and open to international cooperation by putting on high-standard film festivals in the country, including the international film festival in Rotterdam and the international documentary film festival in Amsterdam, the world’s largest documentary festival.
Films to be shown at the festival include “1991,” “Al Qatt,” “Bilal,” “Zeina’s Cake,” “Luba Colors,” and “Hudu Mountasaf El Layl.”
SOURCE : ARABNEWS