Saudi short film “The Whaler” on May 22 won the Science Award at the 2022 Nice International Film Festival, held in the south of France.
The film documents the lives of fishermen in Saudi Arabia, showcasing the beauty of the Kingdom and its maritime world to international audiences.
It provides unique insight into past and present generations of fishermen — known as “hawata” (Arabic for “whalers”) — through Abu Hilal, an esteemed elder of Yanbu’s fishing scene.
A coastal and industrial city on the Red Sea, Yanbu is strategically located as it is close to the Suez Canal.
Speaking to Arab News, filmmaker Saleh Bukhamseen said: “One major challenge that we — the cameraman Wael and myself — faced when filming ‘The Whaler’ was the extreme weather conditions and the obstruction of the Suez Canal, which happened in 2021.”
Bukhamseen said that he was first inspired to shoot his film when he began diving and saw the life and beauty that lies beneath the Red Sea’s surface. What he could not describe in words, he said, he captured on film.
“The Whaler,” only 12 minutes long, will be available for the world to see once the film festival tour concludes. Bukhamseen said that these few minutes took five months to prepare, film, edit and present to audiences and panelists.