DHAHRAN: Winners celebrated their Golden Palm awards at the conclusion of the ninth Saudi Film Festival, the event toasting a bright future for the country’s cinema industry. Mansour Assad, who directed the film “Slave” which was nominated for several awards, was delighted to be clutching three Golden Palms at the end of the proceedings. He said: “I am so happy. Thank you so much to the Saudi Film Festival. I actually won three awards and I could not have imagined winning more than one.” Hakim Juma won a best actor award for his performance in “Don’t Go Too Far,” a short film about a man suffering from mental illness who gets lost in a busy subway in New York. He told Arab News: “Everyone here is a peer and a colleague and a mentor. The fact that I got nominated alone, that for me was enough, but to win as well, it just went the extra mile for me. I am elated but it’s still pretty surreal for me.” Maram Taibah, the director of the short film which was released in 2018, said that the story was based on her fear of losing her older brother. She said: “To face that fear, I decided to make a film about it and kind of explore what this character’s journey would be like. “What I love about it is that there are devastating moments, there are innocent moments, there are playful moments. And it was such a joy writing it and making it.” Taibah added that she loved being a part of the festival and hopes to direct another film for next year’s event. She said: “I really hope to share more work because this place is a meeting point where all of us creatives get together and it’s where we come to celebrate what we make and what we create.” Salma Murad, director of the film “Kabreet,” picked up another award. She said: “The journey was so long that right now getting this award feels like the most surreal and overwhelming feeling I have ever experienced. “I don’t even have words. I need a few days to process what just happened.” Film festival director Ahmed Almullah said that preparations for next year’s event were already underway. He added: “At the finale, the closing night of the festival, it is natural to have mixed feelings of joy and sadness. “(We are) happy to see our hopes, programs and planning throughout the year be fulfilled, but also sad because tomorrow everyone will part ways. However, the beautiful memories will remain. “A great sense of love prevailed during these eight days and nights, during which not only new relationships have been forged, but future projects saw the light. “We promise that the 10th session will be special and we have already started planning for it. We are working on an eye-catching program.”