A young Saudi actor and writer of television serials has been chosen as the Kingdom's finalist in competition for the UK's International Young Performing Arts Entrepreneur 2009 Award (IYPAE). Naïf Al-Fayez, best known for his leading role as a medical intern in a television serial called 37 Degrees aired by MBC Channel 1, was chosen from 16 entries, including four Saudi women artists, that the British Council received from across the Kingdom, said Amani Fairak, Assistant Director for Creativity Projects, British Council, which is the sponsor of the award. Fairak said that although the IYPAE category of awards has been introduced for the first time in Saudi Arabia, other categories, such as, Visual Arts, Fashion and Publishing have attracted participants in the past. “Al-Fayez became the national finalist to represent Saudi Arabia and the Middle East to compete in the UK's Performing Arts competition,” said Fairak after a ceremony held at the British Council in Riyadh to honor the Saudi actor. Fairak said that Al-Fayez will go to the UK on a Performing Arts tour from Aug. 12 to 24 and join 10 international competitors who are actors and theater professionals from around the world. The participants will have a chance to meet leaders and innovators in the British Performing Arts industry, she said, adding that the artists will also attend the Edinburgh International Festival from Aug. 14 to Sept. 6. The Young Performing Arts Entrepreneurs including Al-Fayez will be interviewed in the UK by a panel of Performing Arts experts and the winner will receive a cash award of £5000 to be spent on a project in collaboration with the British Council, whose main interest is to promote links in Performing Arts between the winner's country and the UK, Fairak said. Al-Fayez speaking on the occasion said the award would encourage young artists like himself and other members in the art community and it would also attract the attention of decision makers in order to improve the level of professionalism internationally. Currently the leading actor in a theatrical play, Al-Fayez is involved in the preparation of the 2nd season of his TV hit, contributing not only as an actor but also as one of the main writers. Al-Fayez won the Director's Award for the Best Drama Film in the students' category of the 2007 Emirates Film Festival.
