As a seasoned movie connoisseur who has traversed the cinematic landscapes of the world, I must say that the Red Sea Film Festival is a beacon of hope for the global film industry. Having attended numerous prestigious film events, I can confidently state that this Saudi Arabian festival is rapidly carving out its own niche as the region’s premier movie hub.
Four years after its launch, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has a lot to celebrate.
The inaugural film festival and market in Saudi Arabia, a significant cinematic event, has swiftly emerged as the primary movie industry center within the region. This year, films financed by its Red Sea Fund have performed well, with “Four Daughters” by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania receiving an Oscar nomination and Tawfik Alzaidi’s “Norah” marking the first Saudi film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
The 2024 edition of the festival, taking place from December 5th to 14th along the eastern coast of the Red Sea in Jeddah, is relocating from the Ritz Carlton Hotel to its original location within the historic district of Al-Balad, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, head of the Red Sea Film Foundation (the organizer of the event), mentioned to EbMaster that this festival was initially planned for the district area, and it indeed took place there during its first edition in a temporary setup. However, come December, they will unveil a grander, permanent structure. The Cultural Square, as it’s called, includes five cinemas and a spacious auditorium designed to host non-stop screenings from morning till night.
Malhotra explains that “Al-Balad suits us perfectly as Jeddah is a city known for its diverse blend of cultures, reflecting in its environment. The Red Sea embodies this multicultural spirit, and now we have a place to call our own here.
The goal is to transform the newly established Al-Balad space into a year-round venue, which represents another advancement by the foundation in cultivating film enthusiasts in Saudi Arabia. This move provides a platform for movies that typically don’t receive commercial screenings in the kingdom.
This year, Faisal Baltyuor, a trailblazer in the Saudi Arabian film industry, inaugurated the first art house cinema in Riyadh, mirroring Malhotra’s ambition to expand interest in niche films in Saudi Arabia. “We now have the opportunity to strategize, arrange screenings, select content, and innovate,” says Malhotra. This new platform will offer them insights into the preferences of Saudi audiences, seven years after the relaxation of a religious restriction that prohibited cinemas.
Malhotra has specific preferences for the films she’d like to see screened at the new hub throughout the year. She is particularly interested in titles that have gone through the entire Red Sea Foundation ecosystem, starting from the Red Sea Labs workshop program and fund, and moving on to those that debuted at the festival or were born from its Red Sea Souk market. Some examples she mentions are “Inshallah a Boy,” a dark drama by Jordanian first-timer Amjad Al Rasheed about ancient patriarchal inheritance laws, and “Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo,” a debut film by Egypt’s Khaled Mansour about a young man grappling with his fears.
Approximately half of this year’s festival offerings are either world or international debuts, encompassing a diverse range of 80 different countries. Among these, we have “Hanami,” a magical realism coming-of-age story set on the West African island of Cape Verde, represented by Denise Fernandes, and “Saba,” a film from Bangladesh that follows a young woman who cares for her paraplegic mother in Dhaka, directed by Maksud Hossain.
16 films are set to debut regionally in the Red Sea competition, including “To a Land Unknown,” a standout at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight from Danish-Palestinian director Mahdi Fleifel; “Red Path,” a portrayal of a troubled young shepherd by Tunisian director Lotfi Achour; “Aïcha” by Tunisian director Mehdi M. Barsaoui, and the daring satirical drama “Saify,” which centers around banned religious sermons directed by Wael Abu Mansour. The director behind the successful local film “Mandoob,” in which a struggling man turns into an illicit alcohol runner in Ryadh, is also part of this lineup with another film that challenged the cultural norms of the kingdom.
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2024-11-16 20:16