In honour of the sufferings of Palestinians struggling for an independent state, the proposed closing ceremony of the second edition of the Cinemana Arab Film Festival has been called off, according to the festival organisers.
"Out of respect for the feelings of our people in the beloved State of Palestine and solidarity with their just cause, which is the cause of every Muslim Arab, the Supreme Committee of the Cinemana Arab Film Festival has decided to call off the closing ceremony," Dr Khalid Zadjali, director of the festival, told the Observer.
Oman bagged two of the coveted titles at the festival, which witnessed more than 131 participants in various competition categories, including short fictional films, documentary films, animation films and hosted a galaxy of luminaries who took part in the virtual platform.
The results of the second edition of the Cinemana Arab Film Festival came as follows:
Short Fiction Category Winners:
1 'The Final Mistress' by Mustafa Fermat, Mahmoud Yassin award for Best Short Fictional Film for Morocco,
2. 'The Last Survivor' by Abdul Wahid al Hinai, Prize of the Jury for Sultanate of Oman,
3. 'Crossing' by Salman Youssef, Certificate of Appreciation for Excellence and Creativity Bahrain, and
4. 'Hayat Bel Qattara' by Khamis Hassan Al-Masry, the jury prize for Palestine.
Winners of the Documentary Film Category:
1. 'White Gold' by Hamid al Amiri, Kuwaiti Film Producer Yousef al Amiri Prize for the Best Documentary Film for Sultanate of Oman,
2. 'Abu Nasser' by director Saeed and Hassan al Jirani, the award of the Saudi jury, and
3. 'Toshret' by Amer Abu Hassiba, Certificate of Appreciation for Excellence and Creativity for Egypt.
Animation Film Category Winners:
1. 'Memories of Mara' director Wad al Hajaji, Effat University award for the best animation film Saudi Arabia,
2. 'Seed,' director Uday Abdel Kazim, the prize for Iraq,
An excellent repertoire of experts from across the region and beyond formed the panel of judges adjudicating a vast number of entries to the festival.
Acclaimed writer and critic Abdullah Abu Awad from Morocco, director Abd al-Hayy Salih from Mauritania, director Fettis in Qanah from Saudi Arabia, and director Fayek Jarada from Palestine were the jury adjudication short documentary films.
The jury for the short fictional film consisted of the Lebanese artist Madeleine Tabar, Omani artist Shamaa Muhammad, Jordanian director Khamis Majdalawiya, and Libyan artist and producer Khadouja Sabri.
As for the animation film jury, renowned director Mohamed Ghazaleh from Egypt, director and filmmaker of animation Yusef al Buqshi Kuwait, and film director Dr Mustafa al Shawki from Iraq, director and writer Abdullah Al Batashi from the Sultanate of Oman formed the jury.
A 'cinematic evening" hosted by the director of the festival, Dr Khaled al Zadjali and attended by several participants from across the world, in addition to contributions from members of the festival's competition categories jury, made the 2nd edition of the Cinemana Arab Film Fest remarkable.
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