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DUBAI: A delegation from the Saudi Film Council is in France this week to showcase the Kingdom’s movie industry at the 71st Cannes Film Festival.

It will be the first time �������� has participated in Cannes, where the country’s pavilion will show nine shorts by Saudi filmmakers and host a variety of events as part of the Marché du Film, the festival’s industry market.

The Saudi Film Council was launched in March by the General Culture Authority as part of Vision 2030’s goal to diversify the economy through industries such as tourism and culture. The invite-only Cannes Film Festival, one of the world’s most prestigious, starts Tuesday and runs until May 19. Noteworthy Arab films in competition at this year’s festival include Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum,” about a rebellious teenager who sues his parents, and Egyptian-Austrian Abu Bakr Shawky’s “Yomeddine,” a road movie about a man who leaves his leper colony in search of his family.

Two Arab directors will have their debuts in the Un Certain Regard program, which features non-traditional films: Syrian director Gaya Jiji’s “My Favorite Fabric” and Moroccan director Meryem Benm’barek’s “Sofia.”