Nine European countries — Italy, Spain, Britain, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, France, Greece and Belgium — are each taking part with a movie in the event. The film festival has been organized by European consulates in Saudi Arabia.
Centochiodi, the self-declared final work by the great Italian director Ermanno Olmi, was screened at the Italian Cultural Center.
Italian Consul General Simone Petroni welcomed the guests and consul generals of the European countries who participated in the festival.
Petroni explained that Europeans love cinema and art, and through this event the European missions wanted to share the culture and traditions of their countries.
He thanked the EU delegation in Riyadh for their support to organize the festival. He also thanked Fahd Gazoli for participating in the festival, enabling people to enjoy two Saudi films, Hidden Evil by Mohammed Hilal and Carom by Hamza Tarzan.
“Cinema is a form of sophisticated art and today it is changing with technology, but still remains a very powerful medium to express the desires and inspirations of the masses and also helps in the exchange of cultures,” he said.
Petroni further said that this year the consulate decided to focus more on the quality of the content of the films, not just on their capacity to entertain the public. “The three-week-long festival is very rich and interesting. It will bring the public entertainment and topics for serious talk,” he said.
The deputy head of the embassy of Spain in Riyadh will be here on May 1 for the screening day of a Spanish film. France and Belgium will together present the Belgium comic movie Largo Winch.
“I think it is always exciting, the first day and opening of the film festival. This year even more so, as the host country, Saudi Arabia, will also participate. We will have a chance to see Saudi culture at the same time with the exchange of European culture,” said Christian Strob, the cultural attaché at the German Consulate.
