Manju Ramanan, Founder of AlignME was invited to the Saudi Film Festival in Dammam ( May 2- 9th) 2024. She was later joined by film maker Sameer Khan, the writer/ director of recently released film Gabru Gang and founder of Kings Maker Entertainment. Both Align ME and KingsMaker are part of Dubai based group Eleven11 Group.
“The festival had a few Indian films and it was great to see how welcoming the Saudi people are towards Indian cinema,”said Manju Ramanan who interviewed Indian actor Atul Kulkarni who conducted a master class at the festival. ” The film market at SFF was extremely beneficial for film-makers like me wanting to release our films in the GCC,” says Sameer Khan.
The Saudi Film Festival celebrated its 10th edition in Dammam between May 2nd – 9th. Organised by the Cinema Association and King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) at Dhahran, Dammam, it had a special focus on Science Fiction Cinema and Indian cinema. The other Indian films that were screened there were Mein Mehmood directed by Prataya Saha that had Ozair Abdul Aleem in the lead. The film was entirely shot in Dubai during the pandemic. Ira Dubey who was present at the festival was seen in The Daughter: Directed by Soumyak Kanti DeBiswas. The Learesque film had none other than the legendary Naseeruddin Shah in the role of the father.Namita Lall’s Country of Blind, The Foreign Patriot directed by Mansour Albadram were the other desi films at the festival. Well known Indian film actor Atul Kulkarni conducted a master class at SFF.
The festival featured 76 film screenings. 53 titles that competed for 36 awards in several categories, including Film Competition, Unexecuted Screenplay Competition, and Production Market Projects Competition. This year, a new category honored environmental consciousness: The Golden Palm Awards. It focussed on the best Saudi documentary about the environment and an animated short film.
SFF also hosted 10 training workshops and 13 masterclasses — offering aspiring filmmakers a chance to hone their craft and connect with industry leaders. Additionally, the Festival Museum featured highlights from the festival’s previous editions. Other activities include a children’s program with interactive elements, a meet and greet with Saudi stars, an Ithra tour and a display of the Saudi Encyclopedia of Cinema.
