The activities of the fifth session of the Bahrain Film Festival, which was held under the slogan “Short Films, Great Stories,” concluded this evening, during the period from October 30 to November 4, with the wide participation of Bahraini and Arab directors, artists, and stars.
In his speech during the closing ceremony, Ammar Zainal, the artistic director of the festival, said that cinema was and still is a mirror of the human story, giving it a face of light and a voice, a soul and an inextinguishable memory, stressing that hope is only seen on the screen, and that great stories always begin with a great film and an idea that came from a small heart, but it saw the world bigger than its borders.
He added that the Bahrain Film Festival represents a shared dream space that brings together generations, and opens windows of hope year after year, pointing out that cinema in Bahrain is not only an art, but a national and cultural responsibility that reshapes the Bahraini dream in multiple faces and different voices.
He expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to Dr. Ramzan bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Information, for his continuous support, to the strategic partners and sponsors, and to all members of the work team who contributed to the success of this session, recalling at the same time the late writer Farid Ramadan, who left an immortal mark in establishing the festival.
The closing ceremony witnessed the distribution of awards for the festival competitions, where the film “Children of Barzagh” by Iraqi director Suleiman Hamza won the award for best animated film in the short animation category, while the special jury received praise for the film “Bahr” by Egyptian director Bilal Abu Samra in recognition of its artistic excellence. The film “Abu Salma” by director Aseel Al-Wadiya won the award for best documentary film in the short documentary category.
In the Bahraini Short Film Competition, actress Lamia Al-Shuwaikh won the Best Actress Award for the movie “Salem is Not Salem,” and actor Sam Awad won the Best Actor Award for the movie “Stitches.” Salim Arjun also won the Best Music Award for the movie “Salem Not Salem,” and Walid Tiyahi won the Best Cinematography Award for the same work. Writer and director Dina Al-Sawyer achieved a double achievement by winning the Best Screenplay and Best Director awards for the movie “Stitches,” which was also crowned Best Bahraini Film Award.
In the Arab Short Narrative Films category, the jury awarded three appreciation awards to the film “The Village” by director Anis Ben Dali from Tunisia, the film “Sharshoura” by director Ahmed Al Nasser from Saudi Arabia, and the film “The Last One” by director Karim Rahbani from Lebanon.
The film “Ismail and Yousra” by director Ali Takash from Lebanon also won the Special Jury Award, while the film “Zahra” by director Hadi Shatat from Jordan won the award for Best Short Narrative Film.
The Bahrain Film Festival, which is organized by the Bahrain Film Club in cooperation with the Ministry of Information, continues to consolidate its position as a creative platform that celebrates Gulf and Arab cinematic talent, and supports the production of short films that express human and societal issues with an innovative artistic vision, in preparation for the launch of its sixth edition with an international flavor next year.
