Filmmakers share their experiences

The fourth Colors of Saudi Arabia Forum is hosting a week of lectures and workshops on film and photography production, as part of efforts to boost tourism in the country.
The forum, the largest event for created images on the Kingdom’s culture and heritage, is organized annually by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture. The forum opened at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center on Monday.
Expert photographers and filmmakers will share their experiences at over 50 lectures and workshops, including creating images for business and the media.
There would also be courses on landscape, underwater, sports and other types of photography and filmmaking, according to an SCTNH official on Monday.
He said that for the first time, the forum would highlight several technical and development themes, such as the psychological impact of photography to be presented by Jalal Al-Messairi, a lecturer, judge of the forum’s photography contests, and a member of several photography associations worldwide.
The forum would also feature a lecture on light exposure dynamics by Ben Long, a professional photographer, writer and lecturer on film production and photography, who has worked for several international firms including National Geographic.
There would also be lectures held on how to make successful videos, including tourism films and advertisements, by Portuguese speaker Hugo Marcus, a specialist and expert at a number of international film festivals, and a judge for short films at the event this year.
Other key speakers on short films include Mohanad Al-Kadam, who graduated from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and the Vancouver Film School; Abdullah Al-Sheraidah, a cinematographer and director of photography for many television films; and Saud Al-Khamees, director general of information at King Saud University.