The symposium celebrating the honorees at the Al Ain Film Festival in its second session, which was held yesterday morning, within the activities of the festival, which takes place from January 22 to January 25, has turned into a session to open wounds and discuss the problems of Arab and Gulf cinema in particular, and the challenges faced by filmmakers, In order to present their business and continue in the field. Participants in the symposium raised urgent issues, such as the difficulty of marketing Gulf artworks in Egypt and North Africa, due to the different dialects, as well as the issue of excluding comic works and their stars from honoring the festivals platforms, as well as the issue of lack of financial support for artistic works in various Arab countries, and the decline of the official role In it, and its dependence on personal and individual initiatives.

The festival director, Amer Salmin Al-Marri, stressed during the session in which the artists Ahmed Badir, Tariq Al-Ali and Khalil Al-Rumaithi participated, the "Al Ain Film Festival" is keen on its local character, which derives its privacy, and its focus on works and artists in the Emirates and the Gulf, so that the work and the local artist remains the focus of the festival And his stars, adding: “We do not dream of reaching the world, because this will require that we change our garment, and wear another garment that does not express us, and its time will turn the presence of the local artist into a marginal presence instead of being the focus of the festival.”

The opening ceremony of the festival, which was held the evening of yesterday, in the Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain, in the presence of Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, had witnessed the honor of the late Bahraini artist Ali Al Ghurair, for his artistic career, and he received the award on his behalf, his companion in the acting artist Khalil Al Rumaithi, as was done Honoring the Emirati artist Dhaen Juma, and his son received the honor on his behalf, the Emirati artist Maryam Sultan, the Egyptian artist Ahmed Badir, and the Kuwaiti artist Tariq Al Ali.

Al-Marri explained that «the selection of the honorees in the festival was not easy, but it adopted several criteria, the most important of which was honoring art pioneers who provided important imprints on the artistic scene, through their work in cinema, theater and drama at the local, Gulf and Arab levels, with a focus on the comedy stars and the entertainment industry Contrary to what other festivals that are interested in elite and tragedy films and their stars at the expense of comedian artists, along with the festival’s keenness to choose well-known stars who have wide popularity with the Arab public, what contributes to the marketing of the festival ».

Honor for comedy

For his part, the artist Ahmed Badir expressed his happiness with the honor that is characterized by privacy from other honors that he received before, as he comes to him as a comic artist. He added, "I was honored a lot before, but on tragic roles, even though I am basically a comedian, even the comedian Najah Al-Muji when he was honored. This came on a tragic role."

Badir criticized the level of comedies that are currently being presented, considering that the absence of a good comic script is the reason behind his absence from the scene, adding: “The comics have become few and costly financially, and what was laughing yesterday is no longer laughing today, and in general the theater is my passion. As for the cinema And television, it is difficult to see that they have good production at the present time, considering that the role of Al-Zaini was a great challenge for him and director Majdi Al-Alami.

Urgent issues

For his part, the artist Tariq Al-Ali presented many issues that caused controversy among the audience, foremost of which is the difficulty of marketing Gulf works in Egypt and North Africa due to the different dialects, indicating that as a Gulf artist interested in knowing the Egyptian audience, because he is the largest in the region, and what Egypt enjoys From a well-established cinema industry. He considered that putting translation in Arabic or in the Egyptian or Maghrebi dialect on Gulf business to facilitate its follow-up is unacceptable.

In response to this matter, the participants in the symposium considered that festivals, joint production and social media contributed to bringing the Arab public closer together, and to know the different dialects prevailing in the countries of the region.

"You will die in the twentieth," not against Sufism

The hero of the opening film of the Al-Ain Film Festival, the Sudanese movie "You Will Die in the Twentieth", directed by Amjad Abu Al-Ala, explained that "the great challenges that faced the film staff during the preparation and filming, which reached the threat of death for them and their families, were a reason for the public to gather around and encourage them", noting Until the film is not against the Sufi movement or religion in general, but it is against behaviors harmful to society, and they expressed their happiness at showing the film at the opening of the festival.

During the press conference, which was held yesterday morning at the Ayla Al Bawadi Hotel in Al Ain, and presented by the artistic director of the festival Hani Al Shaibani, the artist, Islam Mubarak stated that “the success of the film and its obtaining international awards came as a gift to the work team, which faced many challenges, and made sacrifices Several, ”she added:“ I received death threats and threats to my children during the work, and I do not deny that I felt fear, but there was no way to back down or stop, as was the movie’s monitoring by the authority, and that is why the revolution and its success were a breakthrough for us, despite the difficulty that we continue Filming while revolutionaries are being killed and threatened around us. ”

Mubarak, who played the role of (Umm Al-Muzzammil) in the film, considered that Sudan still needs a social revolution to get rid of many customs and behaviors that harm society, noting that art is his job to put his hand on the wound and highlight it to encourage its treatment.

She emphasized that the great success achieved by the film so far was not expected from the work team, considering that its success will contribute to facilitating the presentation of new Sudanese films. But at the same time, she noted the absence of official support and interest in the arts, be it in theater, television or cinema.

The first homage to Al Ghurair

The Bahraini artist, Khalil Al-Rumaithi, expressed his happiness at receiving the honor of the late artist Ali Al Ghurair, pointing out that he hesitated in the presence because the death did not pass only days, but he attended the importance of the honor.

He said: "I feel proud to receive this honor, and I thank the Emirates and Al Ain Festival for honoring the late Ali Al Ghurair, who has been my work and life companion for almost 13 years."

Islam Mubarak: "Sudan needs a social revolution to get rid of many customs and behaviors that harm society."

Participants raised urgent issues, such as the difficulty of marketing Gulf artworks in Egypt and North Africa, and excluding comedies and their stars.