RED SEA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 3RD EDITION’s DATES
The Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea IFF) has confirmed the third edition will take place from 30 November – 9 December 2023 in Jeddah, nestled on the eastern shore of the Red Sea. The second edition received wide approval for significantly expanding the industry and events program alongside presenting 143 films from 66 countries to 39,410 filmgoers and 4,345 film professionals, media, and students, with an overall percentage capacity increase of 12%.
The 2022 Festival showcased seven new Saudi feature films and 16 short films from an exciting wave of filmmakers, demonstrating the flourishing local industry and innovative filmmakers responsible for driving and bringing an exciting new vibrancy to Saudi cinema.
Shining a light on films from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, Asia, and Africa, the Festival’s film competition saw Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone at the helm and along with his fellow jurors, present 13 Yusr Awards to recognize the highest achievements in storytelling. The Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film was awarded to Hanging Gardens directed by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji and the Film AlUla Audience Award for Best Saudi Film was won by How I Got There, directed by Zeyad Alhusaini.
The Festival presented GOLD YUSR Honorary Awards to legendary superstar, actor, and producer Shah Rukh Khan, Egyptian cinema icon Yousra, acclaimed British director Guy Ritchie and Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker Jackie Chan.
Over the 10 days of the Festival, cinema talents including Sharon Stone, Spike Lee, Antonio Banderas, Akshay Kumar, Nadine Labaki, Jackie Chan, Andy Garcia, Luca Guadagnino, Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Gurinder Chadha, Nelly Karim, Andrew Dominik, Fatih Akin, Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah, Mo Amer, Michel Ocelot, Kaouther Ben Hania, and Gaspar Noé participated in a series of In-Conversations hosted at VOX cinemas for Festival goers.
The Red Sea Souk welcomed industry professionals, acclaimed talent, and pioneering filmmakers from around the world for four days to exchange knowledge, discuss creative and business collaboration and explore the rapidly evolving film industry with Saudi and beyond.
The Souk comprised the Project Market with 23 projects, six work-in-progress films, 50 exhibition stands, and 13 panel discussions, facilitated over 1190 meetings across all the Souk initiatives, including Talent days, a two-day initiative designed to support the development of the next generation of Saudi filmmakers. The Red Sea Souk concluded with more than a million USD awarded to projects selected in the Red Sea Souk Awards.
Throughout the year the Festival supports the next generation of filmmakers, and since 2019, the Red Sea Film Foundation has supported the development, production, and post-production of 170 films from the Arab world and Africa.
