The Ministry of Culture just announced the launch of a new competition on Sunday entitled ‘Daw‘ which aims to support Saudi films, and also empower aspiring and rising filmmakers.

The competition will be divided into four tracks that include supporting and developing screenwriting and supporting film production and films of Saudi students majoring in film-making at international institutes and universities.

Entries will be evaluated by specialized juries who have experience in choosing winning films projects, and winners will be announced next year in February.

Prizes are up to SR40 million as it is all part of the ministry’s plan of showing tremendous support to Saudi talents majoring in filmmaking by providing such a huge funding platform.

The competition will support young filmmakers in every possible way by providing the needed assistance in producing the films and also creating a production infrastructure and making their career path clear for those interested in different fields of cinema.

Whether you are a filmmaker or a producer, you can participate in the competition online through this link. It just opened yesterday and will remain open till December 29th to give the chance to more people to apply.

Saudi National Day marked the beginning of work on the $500 billion futuristic mega-city NEOM, located deep in a desert bordering the Red Sea of the Kingdom’s Northwest.

Described as “the world’s most ambitious project,” the city is expected to be 33 times bigger than New York and it is getting established from scratch!

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of the project, congratulated King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the occasion of Saudi National day as he announced the start of implementation of the mega project.

“The work on NEOM Bay Airport is complete and the development of labor compounds that will contribute to the growth of the project is now launched, in addition to equipping the residential and administrative area for NEOM employees who will be moving there.”

“We are pleased to announce that NEOM has almost finalized the establishment of strategic plans for this project and its various economic sectors, and we are ready to begin their actual implementation.”  “We are willing to work day and night, so that the coming year, 2020, will be the beginning of the actual momentum of the NEOM projects, embodying the Saudi endeavor to build a promising future for the country.” Al-Nasr added.

We hope this aligns with the plan of completing phase 1 by 2020, with the final brick laid in 2025.

Roa’a Al-Sahhaf is the first Saudi female circus performer and the owner of the Kingdom’s first-ever aerial yoga studio, the trapeze artist has seen great success just a few months after the opening and is already looking expand.

Al-Sahhaf’s modern yoga classes have become very popular among Saudis in a short period of time, it is also worth mentioning that the studio is Saudi Arabia’s first certified aerial arts studio in the coastal city of Jeddah and is offering yoga, pole dancing, Pilates, family dance classes, and boxing.

“I had times where I could not travel, so I wanted to practice it here in my city. I decided to open a studio room in my house, and it worked. It started with family and friends of friends, and little by little gyms and studios began to call and ask me to give classes,” she says.

Al-Sahhaf also got to show off her talents during this season of Taif when she performed in flying trapeze and aerial shows with the famous circus. Currently, more than six gyms and studios across Jeddah are offering her classes and workshops, besides her workshops tours around the Kingdom and other GCC countries.

Her studio is located in Al-Khalidiyah district of Jeddah, and it offers workshops and training programs for future fitness instructors who aspire to teach aerial arts.