Third edition of festival to be held under the theme of “Celebrating the Art of Film-making”.
The five-day Bahrain Film Festival will begin on October 5, 2023. This year, the theme of the film festival, organised by the Bahrain Cinema Club, and sponsored by Beyon and the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), is “Celebrating the Art of Film-making”. The festival hopes to celebrate young Bahraini talent and aims to place the Kingdom on the map of film festivals in the region.
Dr. Ramzan bin Abdulla Al Noaimi, Bahrain’s Minister of Information, stressed the important role of such festivals in preserving cinemas as a cultural tributary, and for promoting artistic exchange and understanding among different countries and cultures. He said that Bahrain has long been a patron of cinema, with its first film festival, the Arab Film Festival, being held in 2000, which paved the way for holding similar festivals in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
The Minister of Information remarked that the film industry is one of the most important and promising sectors of the creative economy, in line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030. He reiterated that the kingdom has provided all the necessary requirements for its success, such as providing the sector with knowledge, empowering Bahraini talent in all fields related to the film industry to encourage local production, as well as enhancing openness to pioneering cinematic experiences in the region. The minister also highlighted the importance of the role played by the private sector in the development of the sector.
The festival will feature a number of specialised filmmaking workshops and seminars, in cooperation with leading regional and international entities. Film screenings and related events will be hosted in the presence of an elite group of films stars from the GCC countries and the Arab world.
