 has been held in Jeddah - a port city on the Red Sea - every year since 2019){kind=link}
Along with the many other advancements the kingdom has achieved in recent years, such as economic, cultural, and touristic ones, Saudi Arabia is also expanding its horizons to the realm of cinema. The exciting Red Sea Film Festival (Red Sea IFF) has been held in Jeddah – a port city on the Red Sea – every year since 2019. International cinematographers, actors, businesses, and fans gather at this prestigious festival to celebrate cinematic storytelling.
With the help of storytelling, the festival hopes to give up-and-coming filmmakers a chance to shine, as well as showcase the work of more seasoned artists and encourage cross-cultural understanding. The Red Sea Film Festival promotes understanding, cooperation, and conversation by showing a wide variety of narratives, documentaries, and short films.
The beautiful Red Sea coast of Jeddah makes it the perfect location for the festival, with its distinctive mix of old and new. Guests may enjoy the colorful ambiance and rich history of Jeddah while engrossed in the world of cinema at the festival sites, which are strategically positioned around the city.
Films from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, and beyond are shown at the Red Sea Film Festival. In addition to educating regional audiences about foreign cinema, it provides a stage for Saudi filmmakers to exhibit their work and receive worldwide acclaim. To provide an engaging and varied program that caters to a wide variety of interests and preferences, the festival presents a meticulously chosen assortment of films.
The filmmakers, directors, and crews will compete from November 30th, 2023, until December 9th, 2023. The Red Sea International Film Festival’s opening night gala on November 30 will feature the global premiere of Yasir Al Yasiri’s “HWJN”, a Saudi feature film. Set in contemporary Jeddah, “HWJN” tells the tale of a generous jinn and is a co-production by prominent regional studios Image Nation Abu Dhabi, MBC Studios, and Vox Studios. The action thriller 122 (2019) is the second feature film by Iraqi director Al Yasiri, who made his international premiere with Shabab Sheyab (2018) at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
“Opening the festival in its third edition with a Saudi film is a great monument to how far the movie sector has progressed in such a short time,” said Mohammed Al-Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation. “For me, as a Saudi filmmaker, this is a brilliant moment. Providing a platform that is acknowledged on a global scale has made us the hub of film growth in the region, which is both an exciting and humbling opportunity. With “HWJN” as our featured guest, we are excited to launch our forthcoming edition!”
The 3rd Red Sea International Film Festival has revealed the films for its International Spectacular strand and will feature the MENA premiere of Michael Mann’s Ferrari on its closing night. The Red Sea Film Foundation, which is the main organization of the festival, earlier this year gave its support to the film, which stars Adam Driver as the legendary automobile creator Enzo Ferrari.
Additionally, the festival unveiled the lineup for its International Spectacular section, which will include several acclaimed films that will be shown in the Arab world for the very first time. “Priscilla”, a biopic by Sofia Coppola, “Origin”, a drama by Ava DuVernay, and “Dammi”, a short film by Yann Mounir Demange, starring Riz Ahmed, are among them.
Red Film Festival’s second edition received a lot of praise for its expanded industry and events program, which brought 143 films from 66 nations to an audience of 39,410 people and 4,345 film professionals, students, and media members- a 12% increase in capacity. Since 2019, the Red Sea Film Foundation has supported the development, production, and post-production of 170 films from the Arab world and Africa.
One hundred seventy films hailing from Africa and the Arab globe have received funding from the Red Sea Film Foundation for their development, production, and post-production stages since 2019.
Film industry experts and professionals have been brought together by the organizers of the Red Sea Film Festival. These individuals are eager to view the films and other fascinating programming that will be presented at the festival.
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