LOC10:14
07:14 GMT
Actors hold the Palestinian flag at the festivals opening
ALGIERS, Sept 25 (KUNA) -- The fifth edition of the Annaba Mediterranean Film Festival has kicked off in Algeria, featuring 76 films from 20 countries competing until September 30.
The festival was inaugurated Wednesday evening with Spain as the guest of honor. This year's edition also has three Academy Award winners presiding over the juries of the official competitions.
Competing films will vie for a number of awards, most notably the Golden Gazelle for Best Feature Film, along with prizes for Best Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay.
The festival also features awards for short films and documentaries, including the Ammar Askari Award for Best Short Documentary, and, for the first time, an award dedicated to Artificial Intelligence in cinema.
The Commissioner of the Annaba Mediterranean Film Festival, Mohammad Allal said during the opening ceremony that the large and diverse selection of films-spanning official competitions and parallel screenings-aims to make the festival a space for cultural dialogue, and cinematic exchange.
The opening night also honored several renowned figures in Mediterranean and international cinema, including Algerian director Ghaouti Bendedouche, Spanish actress Pilar Bardem, and Egyptian actor Khaled Al-Nabawy.
Participating countries include Palestine, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Greece, underscoring the festival's richness of cinematic production across the Mediterranean region. (end)
mr.dss