The 23rd Arab Radio and TV Festival kicked off on Monday in Tunis under the slogan of "Celebrating Arts and Culture." The opening ceremony was hosted on Monday at the City of Culture under the theme: "Arab Perfumes," and the closing ceremony will be broadcast live by the various Arab TV channels and radio stations. The official ceremony was attended by several Arab senior officials, including diplomats, professionals from the festival's media partners and featured artists. The official guests included President of the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) Mohammed bin Fahd Al-Harthi, ASBU Director General Abdelrahim Suleiman, Cultural Affairs Minister Hayet Ketat Guermasi and Syrian Minister of Information Butros al-Hallaq. A tribute was paid to Egyptian actress Sherine, Lebanese filmmaker Georges Ghabbaz, Emirati actress Fatma Houssani, Libyan filmmaker Hassan Garfel, Moroccan filmmaker Sanaa Akroud, Syrian actor Milad Youssef and actress Rawaa Saadi. The festival further paid tribute to leading figures from the Arab audiovisual landscape, including former chairman and CEO of the Tunisian radio and television broadcasting corporation (ERTT) Abdel Aziz Kacem, Tunisian actor Moncef Baldi, former Director of Egyptian Radio Iness Jawhar, former ASBU Director of the Administrative and Legal Committee Hani Farraj, Bahraini filmmaker Ines Yacoub and Taki Eddine Soubira from Comoros. The awards of the 14th edition of the Arab Music and Song Contest were handed over during the ceremony, which was held at the ASBU headquarters in Tunis last May. The Tunisian Radio won the 2nd award (US$ 3 thousand) in the musical works section for a composition entitled "Tamiarat" by Mohsen Matri. The winning works were selected by a jury made up of musician Mona Chtorou (Tunisia), artisit Mona Abelghani (Egypt), artist Dhia Eddine Jebbar Faraj (Iraq), academic Achour Fanni (Algeria) and poet Hédi Daniel (Syria). The Arab Radio and TV Festival is organised by ASBU in partnerhsip with the Tunisian Radio and TV Corporation and the Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (ARABSAT).
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse