MUSCAT, DEC 23 - Four films from the Sultanate made their presence felt at the recent first edition of Kochi Metro Bahrain Short Film Fest 2018 in Bahrain. The festival was held under the auspices of Shaikh Hisham bin Abdul Rehman al Khalifa, Governor of Capital Governorate of Bahrain, in capital Manama. Out of the 46 short films, 15, including four from Oman, were selected for the next round in which films will be made using a Nikon camera. Among the GCC winners, Oman bagged four awards.
‘Asiya’, which tells the story of youth and ‘Ayudham Pazhagu’ by Thasleem Khan, which dwells on elimination of malpractices in governance, were selected for the second session.
‘The Fault, which speaks about handling children with care, and ‘Soliloquy’ bagged the Nikon Runner-up awards.
“I am delighted to bring aspiring and established talents across the GCC and India under one platform,” said Raveendran, actor and producer.
Films shown at The Cineco X, Oasis Mall and Juffair screens included those by Bahraini film-maker Mohammed Bu’ali, Farhat from Saudi Arabia and Ramgopal Menon from Bahrain.
“We honoured three eminent film personalities from Arab cinema,” he added.
Mohammed al Kindy, Chairman, Oman Film Society; Masoud Amralla al Ali, Dubai Film Festival Director; and Ahmed al Mulla, Director of Saudi Film Festival, were honoured.
Arabic and Indian cultural activities such as folk dance, and traditional music and dance, were staged on the sidelines of the festival, held under the auspices of Indian cinema icon Mohanlal.
The 15 award-winning short films were chosen from over 46 entries by a jury comprising Oscar-nominated Indian film-maker Salim Ahmed, Mohamed Rasheed Bu’ali and Nikon representative Reem under the chairmanship of Bu’ali.
The film screening sessions were followed by interactive dialogue and Q&A sessions.
Films of veteran Indian actors Rajinikanth and Mammotty received critical acclaim at the fest.
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