Ambassador of Mexico Aníbal Gomez-Toledo, Ambassador of Argentina Marcelo Gilardoni, Ambassador of Spain Álvaro Iranzo and Ambassador of Uruguay Nelson Yemil Chabén launched the first-ever "Ibero-American Film Festival" in Saudi Arabia, in association with Mexican exhibitor "Cinépolis Gulf" and Al Hokair Group. The festival, which will take place from Sept. 28 until Oct. 2, 2021, in the Cinepolis theaters in Jeddah and Dammam, aims at highlighting 'gender equality' by showcasing films directed by women or about women empowerment in the four Ibero-American countries and in Saudi Arabia, who will participate as special guest. In his welcoming remarks, Ambassador Gomez-Toledo noted that gender equality is a "highly relevant topic of our national agendas" and explained that Mexico is one of the few countries in the world that has adopted a 'Feminist Foreign Policy'. He added, "The main goal of this event is to bring our cultures and our societies closer together", and noted it is the first time a Mexican exhibitor is participating in an event like this in Saudi Arabia, in part, thanks to the Kingdom Vision 2030 reforms. Alejandro Aguilera, CEO of Cinépolis Gulf, and Majed Al-Hokair, chairman of directors of Al-Hokair Group, too joined the joyous occasion. They shared that Cinepolis, largest cinema exhibitor in Latin America and fourth largest in the world, is currently operating two theaters in the Kingdom (Jeddah and Dammam), and will be opening 200 more screens in the country in the next three years. The event concluded with the projection of the movie "Corazón de Mezquite" (Mezquite's Heart), directed and produced by Mexican filmmaker Ana Laura Calderón, who presented the film and explained the importance of "telling the stories of our indigenous cultures in commercial cinema". — SG
