Under the slogan “Celebrating the Art of Filmmaking,” the activities of the fourth session of the Bahrain Film Festival were launched, which will be held from the third to the seventh of this November. The opening witnessed the presence of a group of the most prominent artists and filmmakers in the Arab world, as the festival this year focuses on empowering women and highlighting their issues.
The film “Convoluted” was shown at the opening ceremony
The opening ceremony included a showing of the Bahraini short film “Convoluted”, directed by Muhammad Farid and starring Ibrahim Al-Birawi, which captured the attention of the audience.
“Women in Cinema” session
In a discussion session entitled “Women in Cinema,” Egyptian actress Mona Zaki spoke for the first time about her portrayal of the character “Kawkab Al-Sharq” Umm Kulthum in a cinematic work written by Ahmed Murad and directed by Marwan Hamed. Mona pointed out that the character of Umm Kulthum left a deep impact on her, and that she has not yet been able to get out of it even though filming ended about 10 days ago.
Mona Zaki described Umm Kulthum as “a legend by all standards,” explaining how the character influenced her. She considered Umm Kulthum to be the artist who achieved unparalleled success. She added that there are characters that leave a deep impact on the actor, and described the experience of embodying the character as “very difficult.”
Related Post
Criticism challenges
During the session, Mona Zaki was emotional when talking about the criticism she faced at some stages, noting its impact on her psychological state, as she was forced to stay away from the limelight and stay at home for 5 years. She explained that the support of her colleagues in the artistic community contributed to her overcoming this difficult stage.
Bahrain Film Festival Honors
This year, the festival honored a number of artists, most notably the Kuwaiti actor Mohammed Al-Mansour for his pioneering role in Gulf cinema, and the Bahraini actresses Maryam Zayman and Fatima Abdul Rahim, in appreciation of their contributions to developing Bahraini cinema and enhancing the role of women in this field.
Participation films
The fourth session of the Bahrain Film Festival will witness the screening of 89 films in 5 main competitions, including short narrative films, short documentaries, student films, animation films, and Bahraini films.
Top stars
The festival was attended by a number of prominent stars from various Arab countries, including Bushra, Ashraf Zaki, Rogina, Fatima Al-Safi, Haifa Hussein, Yaqoub Al-Farhan, Shajoon Al-Hajri, and Mahmoud Boushahri, and this added a special sparkle to the event.
