NIZWA: Al Dakhiliyah Film Festival will be held in Nizwa from June 19 to 22. It is organised by the Oman Film & Theater Society in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of the Al Dakhiliyah.
The Organizing Committee of the Al Dakhiliyah Film Festival held its meeting in the presence of Dr Hamid bin Said al Amri, President of the Oman Film & Theater Society, and Mohammed bin Sulaiman al Kindi, General Supervisor and Director of the Festival. Representatives of sponsors also were present in the meeting.
Dr Al Amri talked about holding the festival, which is a part of a series of festivals in the various governorates of Oman for two years. Three other festivals are scheduled to be held this year in the governorates of Dhofar, North Al Batinah, and Al Dhahirah. Al Sharqiyah South and Musandam will host similar festivals in 2023. “The association aims to hold various festivals outside capitals to show the latest films to masses. It is also an opportunity for participants from outside the Sultanate of Oman to experience the cultural, geographical, artistic, heritage, and historical diversity unique to the governorates as well as spreading cinematic culture, and discovering talents in film-making, whether in writing, directing, acting.”
Mohammed bin Sulaiman al Kindi, director of the festival, talked about the festival’s highlights.”The festival will open at the Nizwa Cultural Center and will witness the screening of the film “Cities of Dust between Oman and Morocco” by international director Dawood Awlad Al Sayed. 150 films were received from several Arab countries, Iran, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Oman. After evaluating, 66 films were selected to be shown during three sessions at the Nizwa Cultural Center, Nizwa University, and Nizwa Public Library over two days. It varies between documentaries, features, and animation films. An independent jury was formed for each field. The jury for feature films and animation films includes Dr Salim al Maamari, Dr Noureddin Hashmi from Syria, Haitham Suleiman from the Sultanate of Oman, Dr Mounieh Hojeij from Tunisia, Ammar al Ibrahim and Abdul Aziz al Habsi from the Sultanate of Oman. The jury for documentary films comprises Dr Rashid Al Yafei, Jalal Al Din from Iran, Walid Al Kharousi, Hussein Al Thabeti from Tunisia, and Hussein Al Balushi.”
