The Red Sea International Film Festival kicks off in its inaugural edition during the period from December 6 to 15, on the eastern coast of the Red Sea in Jeddah Old Town (Al-Balad), classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This event features the participation of many talents, stars, directors, media professionals, and film industry professionals from all over the world, in a long-awaited ten-day celebration. The festival is held in partnership with VOX Cinemas, MBC Group, and Saudi Arabian Airlines.
The festival program includes 138 feature and short films from 67 countries in 34 languages, by well-known directors and promising new voices discovered for the first time, including 25 world premiere films, 48 Arab premiere films, and 17 Gulf region premiere films.

The festival provides a real opportunity to discover the new generation of Saudi cinematic talents, as it presents 27 feature and short films that reflect the diversity and vitality of Saudi society, opening a window on a new Saudi cinematic scene and local works capable of attracting audiences and competing globally.

The musical film "Cyrano" by award-winning British director Joe Wright was chosen to be the festival's opening film, an emotional drama written by Erica Schmidt. The film re-presents this classic story with the participation of Peter Dinklage, star of the Game of Thrones series and winner of 4 Emmy Awards, along with Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ben Mendelsohn, and others. The festival concludes with the world premiere of Amr Salama's anticipated film "Bara el-Manhag," starring screen stars Maged El-Kedwany, Omar Sharif, Ruby, Dina Maher, and others.

The international competition for feature films is chaired by Italian writer and director Giuseppe Tornatore, who has an artistic career of more than thirty years during which he presented many works that achieved international success.

The committee includes a female majority in its membership - from Tunisia, actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American producer Cherien Dabis, and the founder of the Morelia International Film Festival, Mexican director Daniela Michel.

As for the short film jury, it is chaired by Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, and joined by Saudi actress and director Ahd Kamel, and Finnish director and writer of Somali descent Khadar Ayderus Ahmed.

The festival is the first international film festival to celebrate local, Arab, and international cinematic voices and creations. It is a platform to support and launch the new generation of Saudi and Arab talents, in order to support the cinematic movement and transform it into a strong and prosperous industry, introduce guests from all over the world to the features of the promising creative scene in the Kingdom, and connect the pillars of the local and international film industry with the aim of exchanging experiences and knowledge and establishing fruitful networks of relationships and partnerships.


The festival also includes: the Red Sea Competition for feature and short films, Red Carpet screenings, and Special Screenings. It hosts a group of programs: "International Choices," "New Saudi Cinema," "Red Sea Treasures," "Arab Masterpieces," "World Masterpieces," and "New Generation," in addition to "Interactive Cinema" screenings and "Red Sea Episodic."

The official competition in both its feature and short film sections includes the most important cinematic creations from Asia, Africa, and the Arab world, as the festival screens 18 films within the short film competition and 16 films in the feature film competition, competing for the Yusr Awards presented by the jury at the awards ceremony on December 13.

Confirming the festival's pursuit of celebrating women's role in the film industry, two talents who left an imprint in the world of cinema will be honored. The first figure is director and producer Haifaa Al-Mansour.

The second is the Egyptian star and icon Laila Elwi, who starred in more than 70 films.
On the international level, the festival honors Jack Lang in recognition of his contributions to strengthening cultural and artistic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France, and for his role in building cultural bridges between the Arab world and France. Lang served as French Minister of Culture and Minister of Education, and currently chairs the Arab World Institute in France.

The festival hosts a masterclass with the great star and icon of Egyptian cinema, Yousra, and the festival will also witness the attendance of international actress and French cinema star Catherine Deneuve.

Four dialogue seminars will be organized to highlight the careers and achievements of Haifaa Al-Mansour, Tunisian star Hend Sabry, Gaspar Noé from Argentina, as well as Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige from Lebanon.

The opening screenings also include:
The latest film by Oscar-nominated and ,lden Globe-winning Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad. The film "Huda's Salon" will open the Red Sea competition.
Joining the list are Saudi female directors: Sara Mesfer, Jawaher Alamri, Noor Alameer, Hind Alfahhad, and Fatima Al-Banawi in the Gulf premiere of the film "Becoming," a cinematic project featuring five stories by five Saudi female directors.
American star Maggie Gyllenhaal presents her directorial debut in the film "The Lost Daughter," which is based on a novel of the same name by writer Elena Ferrante and stars Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman, along with Dakota Johnson and Jessie Buckley.
From "World Masterpieces," the Red Carpet witnesses the opening screening of the film "Ennio."
And the film "Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon."
In addition to the opening screenings, the festival will organize a variety of cultural events and activities, including concerts and outdoor cinema screenings. This includes a concert by the Saudi group YR Music, and a musical concert to celebrate the ,lden age of Egyptian cinema with Rima Khcheich and her band. The Red Sea concerts also feature the Moroccan rappers participating in the film "Casablanca Beats," and the band accompanying the screening of the documentary "Their Heads are Green and Their Hands are Blue."
Red Sea Souk organizes a series of seminars, lectures, and workshops with the participation of the most important pillars of the regional and international film industry, raising and discussing contemporary cinematic topics and issues, including the increased demand for content, the features of the film industry post-pandemic, and sustainable production.

It is worth noting that cinema was present in the Kingdom since the early fifties of the twentieth century until the end of the seventies. The first local film appeared in 1950 entitled "The Flies," starring Hassan Al-Ghanim, whose name history recorded as the first Saudi film actor. Then the true beginning of Saudi cinematic production was in 1966, the date of the production of the film "Repentance of the Conscience" by Saudi director Saad Al-Furaih, starring Saudi actor Hassan Dardir.

References:

https://www.al-madina.com/article/

https://www.alriyadh.com/1921267

https://aawsat.com/home/article/3331576

https://qafilah.com/  

Saudi Press Agency (SPA)

Wikipedia