The Al Din Theatre for Culture and Art announced in its press conference the launch of the Al Din Festival in its fourth and first international edition, which is scheduled to be held during the period from 22 to 31 October 2023 for ten consecutive days, the opening ceremony will be held under the patronage of HH Alya bint Thuwaini bin Shihab al Said at the Oman Automobile Association. This version of the festival comes under the slogan “gathering the world in Oman”,” including adult theatre performances, children’s theatre, and street theatre. This festival is also a unique cultural event in terms of its diversity in including three theatres at the same time, in addition to other competitions such as the Best Theatrical Picture Competition and the Best Media Team Competition to highlight the diversity and creativity surrounding the festival.
A group of 288 performances were submitted to the International Festival to participate in the festival, with the number of performances submitted for children’s theatre reaching 47 and 136 performances for adult theatre, in addition to 117 performances for street theatre, from 31 Arab and foreign countries.
24 theatrical performances were selected from among these performances to participate in the festival, with the participation of troupes from the Sultanate of Oman, and others from outside it such as Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, Egypt and Syria, in addition to troupes from Iran, Spain, Kazakhstan, Morocco, India, Germany, France, Russia and the United Kingdom.
The festival administration also announced the value of a number of Awards, including the Best Integrated Show Award for children’s theatre, which costs RO 6,000. Submitted by HH Dr Taghreed bint Turki al Said Honorary President of Al Din Theatre Troupe for Culture and Art, and RO 5,000 for the best integrated offer in the adult theatre, presented by the Ministry of Culture Sports and Youth and RO 3,000 for the best A comprehensive show at the street theatre presented infrastructure, technology, industrial and consumer solutions at Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC, in addition to RO 1,000 for the Best Media Team presented by GalaxyWay and Many other awards are reserved for the rest Awards and other accompanying competitions, e.g. Best presenter award.
To evaluate these various works of art, jury committees will be formed, including 15 members, including 6 from the Sultanate of Oman and 9 from outside it, representing Morocco, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
The organising committee of the Al Din International Festival also announced the presence of a child jury member named Ezz bin Mohammed bin Khalfan al Hinai. The committee chose him to be a partner in expressing his opinion with the children’s theatre jury, convinced that this theatre is from the child and to the child, and the child has the right to express his opinion, and this is not the first time that a child participates in the jury, as the child Reem al Shueili participated in the last edition of the Arab Festival 2018 as a partner in the jury for the Children’s Theatre.
The number of international guests and participants who will participate in the festival is 260. There will also be 5 theatrical workshops available during the festival that will discover and develop talents, which will be an opportunity for participants to express themselves and discover their artistic skills, and 8 dialogue sessions for interaction and exchange of experiences and knowledge among the participants.
In addition, more than 250 young men and women, college and university students and interested parties, work as organisers and work hard to ensure the success of this great cultural event.
It is worth noting that during the press conference, three cooperation agreements were signed between the Al Din International Festival and other institutions, the first of which was the Oman Automobile Association, the logistical partner, represented by Sulaiman bin Abdullah al Rawahi, Director-General of the Association.
The Association contributed to providing the site and preparing the theatres and all the technical supplies and equipment for the festival.
The Director of the Association stated, “We are pleased to strengthen our strategic partnership with Al Din Troupe for Culture and Art, and we expect a strong development in the presence of Omani theatre, art and culture to the world, and a real sustainability of the energies of Omani youth through the Al Din International Festival and other global events hosted by this growing troupe.”
The International Al Din Festival signed another agreement with Future Labs Technology to launch digital copies using the “Non-Fungible Tokens” technology, known internationally by the abbreviation NFT, at the International Al Din Festival — welcome to the world in the Sultanate of Oman — as a valuable souvenir for attendees. These digital assets were designed in cooperation with the creative partner of Al Din Theatre Group, the creative agency “GalaxyWay”, and are inspired by the Omani identity to highlight the beauty and diversity of the Omani heritage. As it reflects the historical elements contained in the nobility and history of the Omani civilisation, it also symbolises the International Al Din Festival’s commitment to promoting Omani culture and introducing it to the world.
In a conversation with the CEO of Future Technology Laboratories, Mouath al Rahbi: “We are happy with this partnership with the International Al Din Festival, which is an important step towards enhancing the presence of the Sultanate of Oman in the field of digital technology and creative industries. We believe that these modern technologies can contribute to creating an economic digital in the Sultanate of Oman, and enhancing the presence of the Sultanate of Oman in global markets.”
For his part, Mohammed al Nabhani, head of Al Din Theatre Troupe, said:
“We are committed to providing the best cultural and artistic experiences to the public, and we believe that this partnership with Future Labs Technology will help us achieve our goals. We look forward to launching these commemorative digital assets at the festival, which will serve as a gift.” A valuable souvenir for attendees.”
The partnership comes from the band’s belief in the role of small Omani institutions in highlighting their capabilities and quality in large and huge forums such as the International Al Din Festival.
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