Saudi film wins gold at Finland fest

Director Mohammed Salman

JEDDAH: Saudi director Mohammed Salman’s Arabic film “Ghari” won the Best Short Film Award at the Scandinavian Film Festival in Finland on Friday.
This is the sixth international award the movie won at international film festivals.
The premiere of the film was held at the Saudi Film Festival in 2015, after which Salman participated in several Arab and international festivals, including Palm Springs Festival in the US, where contestants compete for Oscar nominations.
The film is about the story of a family that depends on “Ghari” (a vehicle) in its daily life; each member of the family uses the vehicle according to his/her needs: to transport goods, as an ambulance or as a race car.
The non-stereotypical narrative distinguishes the film from others where the director chooses a car to be the star of the movie.
Salman said in an interview with a local publication that the real prize is to have a Saudi film reach a wider world audience.
“We highlight a human dimension which emphasizes the beauty of Saudi culture, and perhaps the most important award was obtained at the Saudi Film Festival in Dammam, where the film was shown to Saudis thirsty for a cinematic identity of Saudi Arabia,” said Salman.
The filmmaker is a graduate of art education at King Saud University. He has worked in several artistic fields since 1995, such as photography, music, theater and film.
He produced several films, including “The Bicycle,” in 2012, for scriptwriter Abbas Al-Hayek. He won the Best Director Award at the Saudi film festival “Rotana 2013.”
The documentary film “Yellow” won the Golden Palm award at the Saudi Film Festival in 2016, as well as the Silver Palm in the script category.