DAMMAM: A Saudi woman filmmaker Hana Al-Omair took the Golden Palm Tree prize for her drama "Complain" (Shikwah) at the recently concluded Saudi Film Festival.
During the Award giving ceremony, the 600-capacity Hall at the Saudi Art and Culture Center in Dammam on Tuesday night was packed with more than 800 men and women clapping and cheering, similar to the scenes at Academy Awards function or Cannes Festival, according to a local daily.
The five-day festival, which concluded Tuesday night, was only the second in seven years and aimed at showcasing Saudi Arabia to the world through local films.
Shikwah tells the story of a hospital worker who lodges a complaint against a colleague, an act symbolizing everything wrong in her life, said Abdullah Al-Eyaf, the head of the festival jury.
Al-Omair said she will the prize money of SR180,000 to finance her future project.
Another woman, Shahad Ameen, won second prize in the drama category for "Eye & Mermaid", a fantasy about a girl who discovers her father has tortured a mermaid to extract beautiful black pearls.
Mohanna Abdullah took third place for his film "Adam's Ant", the story of a prisoner who tries to befriend an ant in his cell.
The Golden Palm Tree for best documentary went to Faisal Al-Otaibi for "Grand Marriage". It recounts a two-week wedding ceremony taking place in the Comoros.
In the student category, Mohammed Al-Faraj also earned one of the golden stylized palm tree trophies for "Lost," a documentary about stateless people living in Saudi Arabia.
Abbas Al-Hayek took top prize for best unproduced script.
Over five days of the festival, 66 films were screened and several workshops conducted on various aspects of filmmaking. It brought together acclaimed critics, writers and artists from across the region.
Peninsula
