Submissions are now open for the eighth Saudi Film Festival, which will run from June 2 to 9 at Ithra in Dhahran.
The festival is calling on filmmakers to submit work in three competition categories: Best Feature Film, Best Short Film and Best Script. Those from the Gulf are also invited to apply to compete for the Gulf Film Award, which is being launched this year, according to the festival's website. All entries are to be made online and the deadline is March 31.
This year, the festival announced it will honour Khalil bin Ibrahim Al-Rawaf, the first Saudi filmmaker to become a Hollywood actor, and Khaled Al Siddiq, a pioneering Kuwaiti producer, screenwriter and director. His film Bas ya Bahar (Cruel Sea), which he produced and directed in 1972, was the first Kuwaiti film to be submitted to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film.
Under the theme of “poetic cinema,” the event will host screenings of Palme d’Or films, training workshops and seminars. The festival will also cast a spotlight on Chinese cinema by screening a selection of its films.
The Saudi Film Festival is organised by the Association of Culture and Arts in Dammam, in partnership with Ithra and with the support of the Film Commission of the Ministry of Culture.
More information on the Saudi Film Festival is available here.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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The biog
Name: Sarah Al Senaani
Age: 35
Martial status: Married with three children - aged 8, 6 and 2
Education: Masters of arts in cultural communication and tourism
Favourite movie: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
Favourite hobbies: Art and horseback ridding
Occupation: Communication specialist at a government agency and the owner of Atelier
Favourite cuisine: Definitely Emirati - harees is my favourite dish
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
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Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
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Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
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March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
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April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
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Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
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Wicked
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
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In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
COMPANY PROFILE
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- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
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- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Results
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
