FIPRESCI Attends the Film Criticism Conference in Riyadh

For the third consecutive year, FIPRESCI took part in the International Film Criticism Conference, held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The theme of this year’s edition, Cinema, the Art of Place, invited participants to explore how location, memory, and imagination converge within the cinematic form.

After two successful editions, the conference once again brought together film critics, scholars, researchers, and festival programmers to examine the concept of place in cinema—not only as a geographical setting, but also as a metaphorical and philosophical space. Through workshops, panel discussions, and stage talks, participants expanded the definition of place to encompass temporal, emotional, and symbolic dimensions, reflecting on alienation, fantasy, and the complex textures of reality.

FIPRESCI members played a leading role throughout the program, offering a diversity of voices, backgrounds, and critical methodologies.

In the panel Cinema Beyond Borders, Lamia Guiga, head of the Tunisian section, addressed cinema in exile and the creative dynamics of displacement.

Nicola Davide Angerame from Italy led a workshop on the written and oral expression of cinematic space, emphasizing cross-cultural readings of how places embody memory, culture, and atmosphere. The session concluded with a group discussion on the role of place in shaping cinematic experience.

Portuguese critic Paulo Portugal explored the evolving role of film festivals amid the expansion of screening spaces beyond traditional venues, while Kazakh delegate Baubek Nogerbek examined spatial representations in independent national cinema. Saudi critic Walaa Sindi concluded the day with a talk on animation as an act of world-building.

In the Beyond Criticism program, Mexican critic Adriana Fernández traced the evolving portrayal of Mexico City—from a semi-rural capital to a vast, multifaceted metropolis—showing how cinema mirrors urban growth and social inequality.

The third day featured presentations from Nini Shvelidze (Georgia), who mapped the cinematic atlas of Tbilisi in the 1960s; Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi (Italy), who explored the relationship between filmmakers and Milan through a phenomenological lens; Eva Peydró Sanz (Spain), who analyzed the narrative role of location in Bernardo Bertolucci’s cinema; Sadia Khalid (Bangladesh), who discussed the cinematic portrayal of Dhaka; and Manuel Halpern (Portugal), who examined exoticism and geography in the films of Miguel Gomes.

György Bárón, head of the Hungarian section, contributed to the panel Memory of Cities with insights from his long-standing critical and academic practice.

The conference concluded with a masterclass by film historian and former Artistic Director of the New York Film Festival, Richard Peña, moderated by FIPRESCI President Ahmed Shawky. Their conversation traversed the social roles of film festivals, their historical contexts, and their future in a rapidly transforming cinematic landscape.

The 2025 International Film Criticism Conference once again affirmed itself as a vital platform for intellectual exchange—one that bridges cultures and critical traditions. It fostered dialogue across languages, disciplines, and experiences, deepening professional discourse while reinforcing the role of criticism as a bridge between cinema and society. Beyond its panels and lectures, the conference served as a shared space for reflection and renewal, enriching global understanding through the collective art of thinking about film.

*All the contributions from the conference will be compiled in a special publication, summarizing the experience and making it accessible to a wider international audience.

Elena Rubashevska
Photos Muhammad Hamed
©FIPRESCI 2025