The department of cinema and television arts at the college of fine arts has concluded recently the proceedings of the 36th cinema and television arts festival held in the presence of the Undersecretary of the ministry of higher education and scientific research, Prof. Dr. Yassin al-Ithawi, and the Commander of Baghdad Operations, Lieutenant General Ahmed Salim Bahjat, as well as a large gathering of official figures, artists and intellectuals. The festival started with the presentation of a selection of short films that were well received by the audience. Then the dean of the college, Prof. Dr. Muthad Ajil delivered a speech in which he praised the sponsors of this artistic magnificent event and the efforts exerted by the graduate students in shedding light on this aesthetic achievement.
For his part, the head of the department of cinema and television arts, Dr. Hikmat al-Baydhani, stressed that the activities of this festival are an annual tradition that celebrates the student outputs despite the severe obstacles and difficulties that accompanied life during the Covid-19 pandemic that affected all fields. It is noteworthy that the final statement of the jury focused on the quality of student works that highlighted the problems and life concerns of Iraqi people and which were clearly reflected in the ideas of performers and directors, however the performances were not limited to one hall, but exceeded the limits of closed performances towards open space through the use of a giant screen equipped with the latest outdoor sound techniques to display a wide range of short films written and directed both by undergraduate and postgraduate students, in addition to displaying films outside the competition. The participants expressed their happiness in the return of film screenings to the public in an attempt to revive the Iraqi filmmaking at the college of fine arts.
