Saudi Film Festival concludes with awards ceremony and honours screen veteran

Ahd Kamel’s My Driver & I won the Golden Palm for Best Feature Film

The closing ceremony of the 11th Saudi Film Festival took place at Ithra Theater, featuring the Golden Palm Awards in the official competitions. Photos: Ahmed Al-Thani

The 11th Saudi Film Festival concluded on Wednesday evening, wrapping up a week-long event with a closing ceremony at the Ithra Theatre. The Golden Palm Awards were presented for the official competitions at the event, accompanied by the screening of a documentary honouring this year's celebrated artist, Ibrahim Al-Hasawi.

With a career that spans four decades, Al-Hasawi has appeared in 45 theatre productions, 90 television series and 15 films. Upon receiving the award, Al-Hasawi said it was the “honour of my career”. He also sang the praises of Saudi cinema and the large strides it has taken over the past 10 years, adding that it will reach global audiences and international acclaim.

The theme of this year's festival was “Stories Seen and Told”, placing a strong emphasis on identity cinema. A wide range of films delved into themes of memory, belonging and a sense of place, offering perspectives that were personal, social and artistically rich.

In the feature film competition, My Driver & I, directed by Ahd Kamel, took home the Golden Palm for Best Feature Film, standing out among strong contenders such as Hobal by Abdulaziz Al-Shalahi and Siwar by Osama Al Khurayji.

The film tells the story of a young woman in Jeddah who forms an unexpected bond with her driver as they connect over shared aspirations. His journey mirrors her own, shaped by the challenges of leaving his family behind in Sudan and navigating the limitations placed on women in Saudi Arabia.

The Best Acting award was presented to Meshal Al-Mutairi for his performance in Hobal. Actors Rola Dakhil Allah and Fahid Al-Yami were given honourable mentions. The Iraqi film Songs of Adam, directed by Oday Rasheed, was awarded Best Gulf Feature Film, while Hobal, Siwar and Thuqoub earned honourable mentions.

Mera, Mera, Mera by Khalid Zaidan earned the Golden Palm in the short film category, competing against Two Sisters by Waleed Alqahtani and The Last Dismissal by Jawaher Alamari.

The Abdullah Al-Muhaisen Award for Best First Film went to Sharshura by Ahmed Alnasser, winning ahead of Gum by Bilal AlBader and Saeed’s Day by Mohammed AlZuwairi.

Delusion by Issa Salem Hamad Al-Subhi was named the Best Gulf Short Film, while Othman in the Vatican by Yasir bin Ghanem secured the Golden Palm in the documentary film category, surpassing strong entries such as Market Dynamo and Sarih.

Othman in the Vatican first screened at Red Sea Film Festival and follows Othman Al-Khozaim, a seasoned Saudi painter who receives a scholarship to study design in Rome. In 2019, he was invited to return to Italy to present Letters without Words, an exhibition of his work visited by Pope Francis.

The Jabal Tuwaiq Award was presented to the best film about a Saudi city, and went to Qarn Al-Manazil by Misha'al Al-Thubaiti, while The Dark Side of Japan by Bahraini YouTube star Omar Farooq took home the top prize in the Gulf documentary film category.

The judging panels featured filmmakers and critics from both Saudi Arabia and the international community. The feature film jury was chaired by Moroccan-French director Ismael Ferroukhi, with Canadian scholar Laura Marks and Saudi director Walaa Bahefzallah serving as members.

The short film jury was led by Japanese director Ken Ochiai, with Saudi writer-director Layaly Badr and Saudi director Musab Al-Omari as jurors. The documentary film jury was headed by Egyptian director Marianne Khoury, with Saudi producer-director Faisal Al-Otaibi and French director Sylvie Ballyot completing the panel.

The festival concluded by awarding 40 prizes from 16 exhibitors, totalling 2,557,500 Saudi riyals ($681,842). The prizes were distributed among Saudi and Gulf film projects in various stages of development and production. The film Green Corpse won the MBC Academy and Shahid Platform Award, valued at SAR 150,000 ($39,990).

Since 2022, the Saudi Film Festival has been organised by the Cinema Association in collaboration with the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra) and with support from the Saudi Film Commission.