Kazem al-Saher and Samira Said clinched this year’s top awards for best Arab clips for their songs “Mustakil” and “Halet Malal” at the second Arab Video Clip Festival. Al-Saher and Said’s clips also won the awards for best directing.
In front of an excited audience of some 1300 people in Beirut’s Unesco Palace, a total of 59 video clips competed in 12 categories equally divided between male and female singers. Najwa Karam’s clip “Najwa 2000”, which combined 7 songs in a one film, and Hani Shaker’s “al-Hilm al-Jamil won the awards for best concept.
Kuwaiti Nawal and Lebanese Wael Kfouri won the awards for best camera work for their clips “Taeb Galbi” and “Saalouni”.
The honor for best editing went to Nawal al-Zoghbi from Lebanon and Hisham Abbas from Egypt for their songs “al-Liali” and “Habibi Dah”, while the best special effect awards went to the clips of Emirate singer Waad Jounoun and Lebanon's Assi Hellani.
The eight-member jury consisted of Safia al-Omari and Ali Badrakhan (Egypt), Dureid Laham and Bassel Khatib (Syria), Abdullah Jafri (Saudi Arabia), Mohammed Tazi (Morocco), Hayat Fahed (Kuwait) and Fahd Abduallah (Lebanon).
According to thisiscyberia.com, the special theme chosen for this year was the second Palestinian Intifada. Saudi Prince Turki Bin Talal Bin Abdul-Aziz was honored outside competition for the impressive clip of his song “Ma Honti ya Ummi”, which was shot in Palestine. One of the children acting was Omar Mohammed Hlayel, who was later killed by Israeli bullets. Prince Turki decided to offer the trophy to Omar’s mother, who “incarnated the peak of martyrdom,”
The event was attended by a large number of top artists, including Sabah, who performed for the event, her husband Fadi Lubnan, Joanna Mallah, Elias Rahbani, Micheline Khalifeh, Mohammed al-Mazem, Zikra, Hisham Abbas, Khaled Sheikh, Fadi Ibrahim and many others – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
