In a joint collaboration between the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and the Cinema Association, the Saudi Film Festival is organizing the "Golden Palm Films" program from June 26 to 28, celebrating a selection of films that have won the Golden Palm awards in previous festival editions.

The program will take place at the Ithra Center in Dhahran, as an extension of the festival's approach to support filmmakers after their recognition, by allowing their award-winning works to be showcased again in various cultural contexts, enriching opportunities for reception and critical reflection.

Festival program director Nada Al-Luhaidan confirmed that the program falls within the vision of the Saudi Film Festival to expand the spaces for reception and celebrate its outputs, going beyond the annual cycle towards initiatives that extend locally and internationally. She pointed out that this direction has resulted in diverse experiences, notably the presentation of the "Golden Palm Films" program at the Cinema Hayy in Jeddah and the Al-Jadidah Cinema in Al-Ula, while the impact has extended internationally through recent collaboration with the "Short Shorts" Film Festival in Tokyo, where a selection of award-winning Saudi films was showcased as part of its official program.

The program will kick off its first day this evening (Thursday) with screenings that combine comedy and drama, divided into two groups that express a diversity of humor. The first group includes four short films: "A Rebellious Egg," "The Old School," "Qan" by Mujtaba Al-Hajji, and "A Happy Day," presenting a satirical view of daily life that ranges from absurdity to irony.

The second group takes on a dramatic social character, represented in the films "Lisan" and "Wasati."

The program on the second day focuses on documentary films, showcasing three films that capture the pulse of the street and touch on the details of Saudi reality from different angles. The screening begins with the film "Joi," followed by "Market Dynamo" and then "Yellow." The third day features dramatic narrative screenings interspersed with an extensive cultural seminar, starting with the film "Pavlov's Bells," followed by "Mira, Mira, Mira," "The Swan Song," "The Story of Saleh," and concluding the day with the film "Hobal."

In the middle of today's screenings, a seminar titled "Saudi Cinema until 2025" will be held, presented by researcher and critic Dr. Mohammed Al-Bashir, shedding light on the structural transformations that the industry has witnessed in recent years.