 will return this year in its second edition, taking place in Jeddah){kind=link}
After a successful debut, the Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF) will return this year in its second edition, taking place in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia from 1-10 December. Screening the best of Arab and international cinema, the theme of this year’s edition is “Film is Everything.”
The festival will kick off with What’s Love Got to Do with It?, a cross-cultural romantic comedy about a white British woman who falls in love with a South Asian man. Directed by Shekhar Kapur (“Elizabeth”) and written by Jemima Khan, the film stars Lily James, Shazad Latif, Sajal Aly, Asim Chaudhry, and Oscar-winner Emma Thompson. The film premiered at TIFF and was recently awarded Best Comedy at the Rome Film Festival.
Across eleven categories, RedSeaIFF will showcase new and established filmmaking voices, TV series, virtual reality, and a retrospective program celebrating masters of cinema. It will also host competitions for short and feature films, as well as masterclasses for emerging talent as part of the festival’s mission to connect Arab and international industry professionals.
RedSeaIFF recently announced its lineup of films in both its Arab and International Spectacular sections. Led by festival directors Antoine Khalife (Arab Programs & Film Classics) and Kaleem Aftab (International Programming), both sections promise to deliver diverse, high-quality films with compelling characters and powerful storytelling.
The Arab Spectacular section features award-winning filmmakers and feature debuts from across the Arab region. Saudi director Fahad Alammari’s Al Khallat+ is an anthology film that builds on the generation-defining digital series, Al Khallat. Award-winning Lebanese director Lara Saba turns to romantic comedy in the unlikely setting of a convent in All Roads Lead to Rome. In Kamla, from Egyptian writer/director John Ikram Sawers, a psychiatrist finds love while struggling with society’s expectations. Award-wining director Zeyad Alhusaini’s How I Got Thereis an action film about two friends caught up in a world of arms dealers and mercenaries. Queens is the feature debut from Moroccan writer/director Yasmine Benkiran. With a nod to Thelma and Louise, it follows two women and a young girl as they drive across the desert in a bid for freedom.
Also part of the Arab Spectacular is the festival’s closing night film, Valley Road, from award-winning Saudi writer/director Khaled Fahd. Starring Hamad Farhan, Naif Khalaf and Aseel Omran, this touching feature set in the mountain village of Alwadi follows a young boy perceived as having a disability. Only his older sister recognizes that his difference is part of him.
The International Spectacular section celebrates some of the most thought-provoking stories from this year’s global film festival circuit. Writer/director Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in a story about the fallout when one man abruptly ends a friendship. Empire of Light from Sam Mendes draws on elements from his own past in early 80s Britain and stars Olivia Colman and Colin Firth. Decision to Leave is the latest from South Korean master Park Chan-Wook and follows a homicide detective who falls in love with the primary suspect in his case. Park won Best Director at Cannes, and the film is South Korea’s entry for the upcoming Academy Awards. Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness is a social satire and stars Woody Harrelson as the unhinged boat captain of a luxury cruise for the ultra rich.
Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae wrote and also acts in his directorial debut, Hunt, which premiered at Cannes. Set against the backdrop of the 1979 assassination of the South Korean president, the film chronicles the search for a mole in the KCIA. From acclaimed Japanese writer/director Hirokazu Koreeda, Broker is inspired by the phenomenon of leaving boxes outside churches for anonymous drop-off of newborn babies. The film stars Song Kang-ho, who won the Cannes Best Actor award for his role. Prolific Moroccan directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s Rebel also screened at Cannes and is a powerful portrayal of a family torn apart over a little Muslim boy’s future. The aforementioned What’s Love Got to Do with It? rounds out the International Spectacular section.
Other exciting additions to the festival lineup announced by the Red Sea Film Festival include Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All.