THE EMBASSY OF NETHERLANDS will showcase 30 Saudi movies during the Golden Falcon Film Festival on April 17- 18, during which it will host 3-hour screenings on three dif- ferent screening sites on the Embassy’s premises.
Dutch Ambassador Joost Reintjes said, “the festival will be a great stimuli to promote the filmmaking industry in Saudi Arabia” and that “the festival is an excellent opportunity to give young Saudi filmmakers a platform to show their work.”
Besides that, it gives young Saudis the possibility to grow their talent with local and international experts. The ambassador added, “This initiative comes with a Dutch touch after lifting the ban on cinemas that lasted for 35 years in Saudi Arabia.” Three movie producers will be awarded with the Golden Falcon Award and a trip to study movie technology in the Netherlands which is known for high-quality films.
Hans Treffers, head of jury at the Golden Falcon awards was pleasantly surprised by the overall high quality of the sub- missions. He stated: “The quality of the films being screened at this Golden Falcon Festival are of exceptional quality, they add to the popular Saudi film sector, which is widely appreciated and respected on international film festivals.”
The films to be shown include “1991”, “Al Qatt”, “Bilal”, “Colors”, “Fell”, “Hudu Mountasaf El Layl”, “LUBA”, “Maz- ban”, “One”, “Sami”, “Sound”, “The Remaining”, “Tongue”, “Zeina’s cake”, among others.
Dutch Embassy First Secretary Jeroen Gankema, who’s also the director of the Golden Falcon Film Festival, believes that Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands can capitalize on oppor tunities in the film and entertainment industry. Gankema previously launched similar initiatives in Turkey and Indonesia, and said that “by bringing this concept to Saudi Arabia, the Embassy can highlight the skills and abil- ities of young Saudis who are active in the film industry.”
Those interested to watch the films are invited to follow NLinKSA on Twitter and tweet using #GoldenFalconFF as a hashtag.
