MUSCAT: The first edition of Ain Short Film Festival began on Wednesday. The five-day event, organised by the Ministry of Information, aims to promote the Omani film industry, stir the cultural activities and improve the cultural content.
Dr Abdullah bin Nasser al Harrasi, Minister of Information, said that organising the festival aims to achieve several goals related to the film and drama industry, most importantly is refining the skills of participants scriptwriting, cinematography, acting, directing as well as all processes related to the film industry. It also aims to enrich the Ain platform with short films, providing meaningful media content and exchanging experiences between participants, jury committees and through the activities accompanying the festival. The festival will contain cinematic workshops, film screenings and a specialised symposium.
The minister of information stated that the winning films in the festival will have an opportunity to be screened through on the Ain platform which surpassed 10 million views in various countries of the world. He added that the number of participants confirms the existence of talents in the cinematic field that need to receive support, care and attention, which is what the ministry seeks through the Ain platform because supporting creative talents and working to refine them in the media fields is an ingrained specialty of the Ministry of Information.
Mohammed bin Said al Balushi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Information, head of the festival’s organising committee, delivered a speech at the beginning of the ceremony during which he stressed the Ministry of Information’s keenness to enable Omani youth to engage in film-making. This, he said, stems from the ministry’s belief in their potential and energies by adopting one of the most important initiatives of Ain e-platform namely the launch of the Ain Short Film Festival. This festival constitutes a new portal that reflects intellectual and artistic production, tells Omani stories and tales and contributes to the exchange of cultures and knowledge with various countries of the world.
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