Fourth Cinemana International Film Festival Muscat from Tomorrow

Muscat: His Excellency Salim bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi. Minister of Heritage and Tourism​ will inaugurate on Saturday, the fourth edition of Cinemana International Film Festival, which is organized by the Ahli Sidab Club, in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of Musandam, during the period from 3 to 8 February. The official opening ceremony will be held at the stage of the Scout Band, in the presence of A number of artists, directors, and a number of those interested in artistic and cultural affairs. The festival is accompanied by the screening of a group of long and short films, in addition to holding a number of workshops and seminars related to cinematic work.

The opening ceremony includes a musical performance by the Scout Band of the General Directorate of Scouts and Girl Guides, in addition to a speech by Dr. Khaled bin Abdul Rahim Al Zadjali, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Festival and Vice President of the General Union of Arab Artists. It also includes a screening of the Omani film (Sultana) directed by Dr. Khaled Al Zadjali, to In addition to presenting a number of paragraphs that emphasize the importance of tourism festivals in promoting youth talents, a number of artists, producers and a number of supporting entities will also be honored.

Film screenings were launched this evening, Friday, at Lunar Cinema in Al-Mazn Al-Tijari in the Wilayat of Seeb, Muscat Governorate, with a screening of a number of participating films. Directed by Sameer Aref from Saudi Arabia.

The evening program for tomorrow, Saturday, includes a cruise for the participants, which will start from Al Mouj Muscat, sponsored by the Sinbad Investment Company. In the evening, the participating films will continue to be shown at the Lunar Cinema in Al Muzn Mall in the Wilayat of Seeb. The diplomatic corps at the Jordanian embassy, ​​and the Syrian film (Al-Hakim) by director Basil Al-Khatib will be screened in the presence of the ambassador and members of the diplomatic corps at the Syrian embassy. Then, the Indian movie Ayisha, produced by Mohammed Sakkariya, will be screened in the presence of the ambassador and members of the diplomatic corps.

Honoring Arab stars

The fourth session honors a group of cinema pioneers at the local and Arab levels. On the Arab scale, the great artist Duraid Lahham from Syria, the artist Akef Najm from Jordan, the artist Tariq Abdulaziz from the Arab Republic of Egypt, the artist Ghazi Hussein from Qatar, and the artist Dr. Habib Ghuloom from the State of Qatar will be honored. The United Arab Emirates, and the artist Mansour Al-Faili from the United Arab Emirates. As for the honorees in the framework of the Omani achievement in the arts in the Sultanate of Oman, a group of artists, cinematographers and playwrights were selected, and they are:Zakaria bin Yahya Al-Zadjali in the field of (cinema and television), Dr. Abdul Karim bin Ali Jawad in the field of (theatre), Fatima bint Ali Al-Salmiya in the field of (theatre), Dr. Khadija bint Sulaiman Al-Shehiya in the field of (theatre), Salem bin Ahmed Al-Khanzouri in the field of (theatre) and Abdul Rahman bin Ahmed Al Mulla in the field of (theatre), Dr. Ahmed bin Murad Al Balushi in the field of (social media), Awf bin Abdullah Al Shehhi in the field of (photography), and Dr. Wafa Bint Salem Al Shamsiah in the field of (playwriting, stories and children’s poetry).

Festival Awards

The Organizing Committee of the Cinemana Festival has allocated special prizes for the competition. For feature films, there are prizes for creativity, the Best Direction Award, the Best Actor Award, the Best Actress Award, the Jury Prize and a Certificate of Mention. Two awards were also allocated for the Short Film Competition, the Jury Prize, the Prize for Excellence and Creativity, and the Jerusalem Prize.

Offers and events

It is worth noting that the days of the festival will be full of activities and enriching events that vary between film screenings, workshops, lectures and recreational cruises. On the first day of February 4, a cruise will be held on board a ship in Al Mouj Muscat, sponsored by Sinbad Investment Company. In the evening, the Jordanian film will be shown. (Al-Kamin) produced by Issam Hijjawi, and the Syrian movie (Al-Hakim) by director Basil Al-Khatib, and the Indian movie (Aisha) by producer Muhammad Sakarya. On the fifth day of February, a cruise will be held from Shinas to Musandam Governorate to carry out the rest of the activities and programs, including the activities of the complex. Al-Riyadi Khasab, and presented the play (Beit Bouseif), written and directed by Najm Abdullah Al-Shehhi.

The program of the festival, February 6, includes a cinematic acting workshop by the distinguished Syrian artist Duraid Lahham, and the artist Talib Muhammad participates in its implementation. And another workshop on the basic principles of cinematic script writing, to be implemented by Prof. Dr.. Tariq Zamzam from the Higher Institute of Cinema at the Academy of Arts in Cairo, and it will be implemented in the Sports Complex Hall in Khasab. A symposium on “Cinema is a Distinguished Tourist Attraction” presented by Dr. Abdul Karim Jawad, and concluded with a workshop on the art of film directing, presented by Basil Al-Khatib at the Sports Complex.

On the 8th of February, a symposium on the search for an alternative cinema will be held in the morning. It will be presented by Dr. Abdul Karim Jawad and will be implemented in the Khasab Sports Complex, in the presence of all guests and artists. This symposium will have two axes: Gulf cinema and drama, in which the honorees from the Gulf will participate in the challenges facing Arab cinema.

In the evening, the closing ceremony of the festival will be held under the auspices of His Excellency Sayyid Ibrahim bin Saeed Al Busaidi, Governor of Musandam, in the presence of all guests, artists and invitees.