Nov. 5, Manama (BNA): “Short Films, Great Stories” was the topic of the fifth Bahrain Film Festival, which came to an end. Directors, actors, and artists from Bahrain and the Arab world participated in large numbers.
Bahrain Film Festival concludes fifth edition with awards ceremony for winners
The festival’s artistic director, Ammar Zainal, thanked sponsors and strategic partners, Dr. Ramzan bin Abdulla Al Noaimi, Minister of Information, and the whole team that helped make the event a success. Additionally, he honored the late Fareed Ramadan, who was instrumental in starting the celebration.
A special jury commendation for artistic excellence was given to Egyptian director Belal Absamra’s film “Bahr”; Iraqi director Suleiman Hamza’s film “Children of Barzagh” won Best Animated Film in the short animation category; and director Aseel Al Wadiah’s film “Abu Salma” won Best Documentary in the short documentary category at the closing ceremony.
Sam Awad received Best Actor for “Gharz,” Salim Arjun got Best Music for “Salem Ghair Salem,” Walid Tyahi won Best Cinematography for the same film, and Lamiaa Al Showaikh won Best Actress for Salem Ghair Salem (Salem Not Salem) at the Bahraini short film competition. For “Gharz,” which also won Best Bahraini Film, writer and director Dina Alsuwaier won both Best Screenplay and Best Director.
The jury gave special honors to “The Village” by Tunisian Anis Ben Dali, “Sharshura” by Saudi Arabian Ahmed Al Nasser, and “The Last One” by Lebanon’s Karim Rahbani in the category of Arabic short narrative films.
“Zahra” by Jordanian Hadi Shatat won Best Short Narrative Film, while “Ismail and Yousra” by Lebanon’s Ali Takash earned a special jury prize.
The festival, which is organized by the Bahrain Cinema Club in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, is still establishing itself as a creative platform that supports Arab and Gulf cinematic talent and promotes short films that use innovative artistic vision to reflect human and societal issues. The sixth edition, which will have a worldwide focus next year, is now being prepared for.
