The 11th Saudi Film Festival concluded on Wednesday evening, wrapping up a week-long event with a closing ceremony at the Ithra Theatre. The Golden Palm Awards were presented for the official competitions at the event, accompanied by the screening of a documentary honouring this year's celebrated artist, Ibrahim Al-Hasawi.
With a career that spans four decades, Al-Hasawi has appeared in 45 theatre productions, 90 television series and 15 films. Upon receiving the award, Al-Hasawi said it was the “honour of my career”. He also sang the praises of Saudi cinema and the large strides it has taken over the past 10 years, adding that it will reach global audiences and international acclaim.
The theme of this year's festival was “Stories Seen and Told”, placing a strong emphasis on identity cinema. A wide range of films delved into themes of memory, belonging and a sense of place, offering perspectives that were personal, social and artistically rich.
In the feature film competition, My Driver & I, directed by Ahd Kamel, took home the Golden Palm for Best Feature Film, standing out among strong contenders such as Hobal by Abdulaziz Al-Shalahi and Siwar by Osama Al Khurayji.
The film tells the story of a young woman in Jeddah who forms an unexpected bond with her driver as they connect over shared aspirations. His journey mirrors her own, shaped by the challenges of leaving his family behind in Sudan and navigating the limitations placed on women in Saudi Arabia.
The Best Acting award was presented to Meshal Al-Mutairi for his performance in Hobal. Actors Rola Dakhil Allah and Fahid Al-Yami were given honourable mentions. The Iraqi film Songs of Adam, directed by Oday Rasheed, was awarded Best Gulf Feature Film, while Hobal, Siwar and Thuqoub earned honourable mentions.
Mera, Mera, Mera by Khalid Zaidan earned the Golden Palm in the short film category, competing against Two Sisters by Waleed Alqahtani and The Last Dismissal by Jawaher Alamari.
The Abdullah Al-Muhaisen Award for Best First Film went to Sharshura by Ahmed Alnasser, winning ahead of Gum by Bilal AlBader and Saeed’s Day by Mohammed AlZuwairi.
Delusion by Issa Salem Hamad Al-Subhi was named the Best Gulf Short Film, while Othman in the Vatican by Yasir bin Ghanem secured the Golden Palm in the documentary film category, surpassing strong entries such as Market Dynamo and Sarih.
Othman in the Vatican first screened at Red Sea Film Festival and follows Othman Al-Khozaim, a seasoned Saudi painter who receives a scholarship to study design in Rome. In 2019, he was invited to return to Italy to present Letters without Words, an exhibition of his work visited by Pope Francis.
The Jabal Tuwaiq Award was presented to the best film about a Saudi city, and went to Qarn Al-Manazil by Misha'al Al-Thubaiti, while The Dark Side of Japan by Bahraini YouTube star Omar Farooq took home the top prize in the Gulf documentary film category.
The judging panels featured filmmakers and critics from both Saudi Arabia and the international community. The feature film jury was chaired by Moroccan-French director Ismael Ferroukhi, with Canadian scholar Laura Marks and Saudi director Walaa Bahefzallah serving as members.
The short film jury was led by Japanese director Ken Ochiai, with Saudi writer-director Layaly Badr and Saudi director Musab Al-Omari as jurors. The documentary film jury was headed by Egyptian director Marianne Khoury, with Saudi producer-director Faisal Al-Otaibi and French director Sylvie Ballyot completing the panel.
The festival concluded by awarding 40 prizes from 16 exhibitors, totalling 2,557,500 Saudi riyals ($681,842). The prizes were distributed among Saudi and Gulf film projects in various stages of development and production. The film Green Corpse won the MBC Academy and Shahid Platform Award, valued at SAR 150,000 ($39,990).
Since 2022, the Saudi Film Festival has been organised by the Cinema Association in collaboration with the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra) and with support from the Saudi Film Commission.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
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Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Specs
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Naga
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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MATCH INFO
South Africa 66 (Tries: De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse; Cons: Jantjies 8)
Canada 7 (Tries: Heaton; Cons: Nelson)
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
