Saudi Arabia Marks Its Strongest, Most Prominent Participation at Cannes Film Festival

The Saudi pavilion succeeded in confirming the position of Saudi Arabia as an incubator for the Arab film industry during the 74th edition if Cannes Film Festival. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi pavilion succeeded in confirming the position of Saudi Arabia as an incubator for the Arab film industry during the 74th edition if Cannes Film Festival. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Marks Its Strongest, Most Prominent Participation at Cannes Film Festival

The Saudi pavilion succeeded in confirming the position of Saudi Arabia as an incubator for the Arab film industry during the 74th edition if Cannes Film Festival. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi pavilion succeeded in confirming the position of Saudi Arabia as an incubator for the Arab film industry during the 74th edition if Cannes Film Festival. Asharq Al-Awsat

As the Cannes Film Festival wraps up its 74th edition on Saturday, many of those following the international event turned their attention to Saudi Arabia, which participated actively and remarkably.

Saudi Arabia participated in the Cannes Film Festival through an integrated Saudi pavilion, with wide participation from a number of government agencies, and the private sector.

The activities were organized upon the directions of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Abdelaziz, as part of his continuous support for the Kingdom’s cultural sector.

While Saudi Arabia had taken part in the 71st edition, this year was different.

The public sector played a role alongside the private sector, and participated at an unprecedented scale, with the participation of the Film Commission, Ministry of Investment, Royal Commission for AlUla, Red Sea International Film Festival, the MBC channel group, Ithraa, NEOM Company, Nebras Films, Cinewaves films, and Arabian Pictures Group, in addition to a group of filmmakers and other Saudi institutions.

During the festival, the Saudi pavilion also acted as a platform for open dialogue among Saudi and Arab filmmakers and investors with their international counterparts.

The Saudi pavilion succeeded in confirming the position of Saudi Arabia as an incubator for the Arab film industry, and a significant and influential market in the Middle East, where aspirations of investors from around the world meet.



Massive Winter Storm to Clobber US from Plains to East Coast

Elijah Minahan, of Johnstown, Pa., shovels out the driveway at his home in Westmont Borough as cold temperatures and snowfall hits the region on Friday, January 3, 2025. (Thomas Slusser/The Tribune-Democrat via AP)
Elijah Minahan, of Johnstown, Pa., shovels out the driveway at his home in Westmont Borough as cold temperatures and snowfall hits the region on Friday, January 3, 2025. (Thomas Slusser/The Tribune-Democrat via AP)
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Massive Winter Storm to Clobber US from Plains to East Coast

Elijah Minahan, of Johnstown, Pa., shovels out the driveway at his home in Westmont Borough as cold temperatures and snowfall hits the region on Friday, January 3, 2025. (Thomas Slusser/The Tribune-Democrat via AP)
Elijah Minahan, of Johnstown, Pa., shovels out the driveway at his home in Westmont Borough as cold temperatures and snowfall hits the region on Friday, January 3, 2025. (Thomas Slusser/The Tribune-Democrat via AP)

Millions of Americans from the Plains to the East Coast faced the threat of blizzards, heavy snow, treacherous ice and freezing rain through Monday, the National Weather Service said on Saturday.

Governors in Kentucky and Virginia declared states of emergency ahead of the winter storm.

"The storm is still taking shape," meteorologist Rich Bann of the NWS's Weather Prediction Center said Saturday evening. "But this thing has multiple hazards from heavy snows in the Plains to significant icing covering roads farther south."

He added that more than 60 million people in the US were affected by winter weather warnings, watches or advisories this weekend.

A swath extending eastward from Nebraska and Kansas through Ohio, Indiana, southwestern Pennsylvania and northwestern Virginia could see from 1 inch (2.54 cm) to 1 foot (30 cm) of snow. Ice could knock out power lines and cause widespread outages.

A wintry mess of freezing rain and ice will hit southern Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee on Sunday, Bann said, likely making roads hazardous and downing power lines.

"It'll be nearly impossible to drive in some areas," he said.

The Kansas City International Airport in Missouri closed temporarily on Saturday afternoon due to rapid ice accumulation, officials said on social media.

Bann said that the storm should move past the East Coast and into the Atlantic Ocean by late on Monday, but a new blast of Arctic air will bring frigid cold to the eastern two-thirds of the US by the middle of next week.