Lotfi Achour’s ‘Red Path’ Wins Golden Yusr at Red Sea Film Festival as Viola Davis and Priyanka Chopra Jonas Receive Honorary Awards

As a seasoned film critic with a penchant for stories that resonate deeply and challenge the status quo, I must say that this year’s Red Sea Film Festival has been nothing short of a cinematic adventure. The diverse lineup, featuring films from 85 countries, has been a testament to the universal language of cinema.

At the Red Sea Film Festival awards event, Lotfi Achour’s film “The Red Path” from Tunisia received the Golden Yusr award for Best Feature Film on Thursday. On this occasion, honorary awards were given to Viola Davis and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Sarah Jessica Parker, Dev Patel, John Boyega, and Nick Jonas were some of the famous attendees at the event.

The final gala screening at the festival was Johnny Depp’s movie titled “Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness”. Depp himself and co-star Riccardo Scamarcio were in attendance.

Titled “Red Path,” this movie delves into the traumatized mind of a child in a war-torn area, marking it as the third production by filmmaker Achour. Its debut on the global stage took place at the Locarno Film Festival. The Golden Yusr award carries a monetary prize of $100,000.

Achour also took home Red Sea’s Yusr prize for best director, which comes with a $10,000 prize.

The honors were presented by a panel of judges headed by Spike Lee, who also included Minnie Driver, Daniel Dae Kim, Abu Bakr Shawky, and Tuba Buyukustun.

I’m honored to share that the Silver Yusr, a prestigious award for feature films worth $30,000, was won by me – Mahdi Fleifel, the Palestinian-Danish director – for my Martin Scorsese-inspired refugee thriller titled “To a Land Unknown.” This remarkable film premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.

In the film “Snow White,” Mahmoud Bakri was awarded as the Best Actor, and the prize for Best Actress was given to Mariam Sherif.

The Yusr award for screenplay and a $10,000 prize was taken by Oday Rasheed for “Songs of Adam.”

In the recent Yusr Awards ceremony, the honor for cinematic achievement was bestowed upon “To Kill a Mongolian Horse,” directed by Tao Qiu. Meanwhile, the Yusr jury prize, worth $10,000, was awarded to “Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo,” directed by Khaled Mansour.

This year, the festival along with its marketplace known as a Souk, found their new location in Jeddah’s ancient Al Balad district. The festival featured 122 films hailing from 85 different countries. Half of these films were either world or international debuts, including 46 world premieres, 15 international premieres, and 53 regional premieres for the Middle East and North Africa, as reported by Shivani Pandya Malhotra, the managing director of Red Sea.

For the last eight days, Jomana Al-Rashid, head of the Red Sea Film Foundation, has been honoring the impactful ability of movies and promoting various stories from different parts of the world.

Additionally, the Asharq Award for best documentary in competition worth $10,000 was given to “State of Silence” by Santiago Mazar. The Chopard Emerging Saudi Talent Award was presented to Roula Dakheel. The Film AlUla audience award for international film was taken home by “Little Jaffna,” directed by Lawrence Valin. Moreover, the Film AlUla audience award for a Saudi film, boasting a $50,000 prize, went to “Hobal,” helmed by Abdulaziz Alshlahei.

In this event, the Gold Yusr Award for outstanding shorts was claimed by “Hatch,” a production helmed by Alireza Kazemipour and Panta Mosleh. They received a cash prize of $25,000. The Silver Yusr Award, which came with a $12,500 prize, was given to the short film “Alazar,” directed by Baiza Hailu Lemma.

2024-12-13 10:47

Lotfi Achour’s ‘Red Path’ Wins Golden Yusr at Red Sea Film Festival as Viola Davis and Priyanka Chopra Jonas Receive Honorary Awards

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