DHAHRAN —The sixth edition of the Saudi Film Festival, being held virtually from Sept. 1-6 showcasing as many as 25 films, got underway on Tuesday. The annual festival is being organized by the King Abdul Aziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran in partnership with the Culture and Arts Association in Dammam and is supported by the Ministry of Culture's Film Commission. Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the annual event this year will see films screened via YouTube, reaching a larger audience. The festival aims at realizing its main objectives such as supporting nationally specialized talents, encouraging the Saudi film-making industry and consolidating cinema-oriented culture in the Kingdom. Since its first edition in 2008, the festival has celebrated and screened Saudi films, giving local productions access to a wider audience. The festival also seeks to lay the ground for establishing an environment for idea-exchanging among the creative ones amid the filmmaking industry. On the other hand, Ithra cinematic initiative played a pioneering role in the filmmaking, in the Kingdom, as it produced over 20 films, which won 15 local as well as world prizes. An array of Ithra made films is streamed, nowadays, on Netflix platform, all over the world.
