Oliver Stone to head Red Sea International Film Festival Jury

February 17, 2020, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Oliver Stone will serve as the jury president of the international competition at the inaugural Red Sea Film Festival, it was announced Monday. 

  

Stone and his Jury will oversee the International Competition, which is focused on original, daring productions by emerging and established voices, particularly those from the Arab world and the Global South. The competition values cinematic forms that push traditions, recognizing the innovators of independent film production. 

  

The Jury will give out the following prizes:  Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film (Trophy, and $100,000), as well as Silver Yusrs for Best Director (Trophy, and $50,000), Best Screenplay (Trophy), Best Actor (Trophy), Best Actress (Trophy) and Best Cinematic Contribution (Trophy). 

  

The Yusr Awards are named after the black coral formations found in the Red Sea of Jeddah’s coast. The results will be announced during the awarding ceremony, held on 19 March, 2020. 

  

The Festival is Saudi Arabia’s first international film festival and presents global cinema, with a focus on the Global South and takes place March 12–21, 2020 in Jeddah Old Town, on the Red Sea coast. The Festival is committed to building a solid foundation for the film industry, building connections between the Arab region and the world. 

  

“We are most pleased to have Oliver Stone leading our Jury,” says Festival Director Mahmoud Sabbagh. Stone is a one-of-a-kind. His incredible films about the Vietnam War and American political life have changed our thinking of history, giving new perspectives and challenging accepted truths. This is combined with technical prowess and captivating style of filmmaking that marks out his films as genuine originals. He is a three-time Oscar winner. An auteur in the truest sense of the word. 

  

“Oliver Stone is behind some of the all-time great pieces of cinema,” adds Sabbagh. “Penning Scarface and Midnight Express, directing Platoon and Natural Born Killers, to name a few, he cherishes originality, craft and creativity, values at the heart of the Red Sea FF. For a new breed of filmmakers competing for the Yusr awards, his watchful eye and sense of authorship will be inspirational.” 

  

Stone will also present a classic film that inspired him, Z by Costa Gavras. Which is a film about a Greek progressive deputy who is assassinated. The investigating judge in charge of the investigation highlights the role of the government, in particular the army and the police in this assassination. 

Red Sea International Film Festival to open with World Premiere of Saudi feature film “Shams al-Maaref” (The Book of Sun)

February 16, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | The Red Sea International Film Festival will open in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on March 12, 2020, with the world premiere of the Saudi feature film “Shams al-Maaref” (The Book of Sun)”, directed by the Godus Brothers. The film will also compete in the Festival’s IN COMPETITION category.  

 

Directed by Faris Godus, produced and starring his brother Suhaib, “Shams al-Maaref” (The Book of Sun) captures the spirit of a generation whose lives were transformed by the internet. Set in 2010, high school senior Husam (Baraa Alem) finds himself drawn into the world of video production, an obsession that takes his focus away from the ordinary pursuits of high school and teenage life. His best friend Maan (Ismail Alhasan), their one-time foe Ibrahim (Ahmed Saddam), and teacher Orabi (Sohayb Godus) also become preoccupied with the online world and the possibility of a medium that comes to represent freedom to them.  The group set out to produce a no-budget horror movie – a wild adventure of self-expression and creativity that their families believe will put their futures at risk.  

 

The Godus Brothers came to fame through their efforts in projects such as Telfaz 11 and their acclaimed short film “Depressing Scene” (2016) and the Saudi Ramadan TV series “Another Planet”. The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation supported the film, bestowing a $500,000 production grant via the Tamheed Fund, a one-time award for emerging Saudi filmmakers. The film is one of a number backed by the Red Sea Film Festival Foundation’s broad slate of grants and funds. 

 

Festival Director Mahmoud Sabbagh commented: “An insider’s look at the origins of new cinema in Saudi Arabia, “Shams al-Maaref” (The Book of Sun) is a fitting opening to the Kingdom’s first-ever international film festival. The Godus brothers have created a testament to the passionate community of pioneering filmmakers, who have inspired and drive Saudi cinema culture.” 

“Changing the Script” – Red Sea International Film Festival announces theme and honors three cinematic innovators

February 11, 2020, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | The Red Sea International Film Festival announced that its inaugural session, which will launch next month in Jeddah’s Old Town, will have the theme “Changing the script”.  

 

The Festival announced the honoring of three creators of change and innovation in their countries, who made great contributions to the world of film. They are Jack Lang, former French Minister of Culture, Kim Dong-ho, founder of South Korea’s Busan Film Festival, and Daniela Michel, founding director of the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico. 

 

Festival director Mahmoud Sabbagh commented: “The honoring of these three legendary figures is at the heart of the Red Sea Film Festival’s goals. An appreciation of pioneers of the film industry, who contributed to unlocking artistic capabilities of their compatriots and developing cinematic masterpieces to be enjoyed for generations.” Sabbagh added, “It coincides with the founding moment of the film industry in our country, and in honoring these individuals looks at how the introduction of similar international models can add to the dialogue establishing Saudi’s film industry.” 

 

Three Gold Yusr awards will be presented at the opening ceremony of the Red Sea Film Festival on March 12  to our trio of honorees who embody the spirit of “Change the Script.” 

 

Festival Theme: Change the Script. 

 

Film industry pioneers and movie fans will gather in Jeddah to exchange thoughts and ideas and to discuss the prospects for change that the Festival’s programs and initiatives carry. This theme was chosen to reflect the atmosphere in which the Festival came to be, and cinema’s ability to document and respond to these social changes. This theme is related specifically to Saudi Arabia as a new film market, and to celebrate cinema’s ability to impact a community.   

 

 

Jack Lang (France) 

 

Appointed Minister of Culture by President Mitterrand in 1981, Jack Lang has made an unparalleled impact over the creative landscape of France. He created a revolution in the film sector, where he worked to develop a profitable infrastructure for the French film industry. Lang redefined the state’s involvement in cinema production with the restructuring of existing funds, a strategy that paid off handsomely. He oversaw the creation of the French National Cinema Center and the Independent Film Support Fund, establishing new funds such as the Mass Production Film Fund. His innovative idea, known as the SOFICA funds, which are private money funds, was the crown jewel of his plans. Many countries have since copied the funding model, and its programs have benefited many generations of directors, including New Wave giants, Godard, Truffaut, Rivette, Chabrol and Rohmer.  

 

Kim Dong-ho (South Korea) 

 

A giant of Korean cinema, Kim Dong-ho is the founder and former Chairman of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), launched in 1996, it developed into Asia’s premier film event, a central hub for the Asian film industry and a global film destination. Since the first edition of the Busan Film Festival, its openness to the public, and its ability to create a large audience enjoying diverse cinematic offerings have had a huge impact on the Korean film industry.  

 

Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to shaping Korea’s cultural landscape. One example, from 1988, he was president of the Korean Motion Picture Promotion Corporation (now Korean Film Council), contributing to the expansion of the cultural scene, deepening the base of the Korean film industry, and establishing Korean films as a global force.  

 

 

 

Daniela Michel (Mexico) 

 

Daniela Michel is the founding director of the International Morelia Film Festival, established in 2003 as an annual festival to support a new generation of Mexican directors, and credited with the rise of Mexican cinema internationally. The direct result of this is the prominence of a new generation of Mexican filmmakers, that is winning major prizes and gaining a permanent place in major film festival competitions. Collectively they have come to be known as “The Second Golden Age” of Mexican cinema. 

 

In addition, The Morelia Festival has acquired a prestigious international reputation, while also playing a central and important role at the heart of the Mexican film industry.  

 

Official Poster for the Red Sea International Film Festival

The Red Sea International Film Festival has unveiled the official poster of its inaugural edition featuring an image shot by Syrian-born artist Osama Esid of Saudi ballerina Samira Alkhamis emerging from the sea, indicative of the wave of change in the region, and the opportunities for a new generation of filmmakers in Saudi Arabia.

 

In creating the poster, Esid employed the wet-collodion process, a traditional photography technique invented in 1851, which he then paints in vibrant color tints, bringing the black and white photography vividly to life. The clash of modern and traditional approaches epitomizing the Festival’s commitment to heritage and innovation, drawing on the past as the foundations of the future.

 

The image is a collaboration between three distinctive Arab artists, Omani artist and illustrator Chndy’s graphic design complementing the figure of Alkhamis in Esid’s bold design. Doubled and reflected, the poster is indicative of the exchange that is central to the Festival’s mission, offering multiple perspectives and new ways of looking.

 

For more information, please contact:

 

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Red Sea International Film Festival

 

The Inaugural Saudi Flagship Film Festival will run in Jeddah from 12 – 21 March, 2020

Jeddah: 27 June, 2019 – The Red Sea International Film Festival announced today that the inaugural edition will be held from March 12 – 21, 2020 in the old town of Jeddah, on the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast led by Festival Director and CEO Mahmoud Sabbagh and his newly appointed senior personnel. The first edition will bring the regional and international community together to experience the world’s best films, educational workshops, informative industry master classes, immersive art experiences, experimental projects and other cinematic events.

 

The Red Sea International Film Festival’s ambitious mandate is to develop and promote the film industry in Saudi Arabia and become a vital event to discover up-and-coming talent from the region and support a new wave of cinema from around the world with a focus on the Global South. The Festival will welcome local festival goers, filmmakers, actors, media and industry professionals to Jeddah to celebrate cinema over the course of 9 days.
With supporting and showcasing emerging talent from the Kingdom at the forefront, The Red Sea International Film Festival has launched The Red Sea Lodge: “The New Arab Wave”, a script & feature lab in collaboration with the TorinoFilmLab which will open for submissions on 1 July, 2019.

 

The Red Sea Lodge: “The New Arab Wave” will select 12 Arab projects of which at least 6 will be from Saudi filmmakers. Filmmakers will participate in a five-month support programme designed to develop their projects with national and international film industry experts.

The Red Sea Lodge will assign two $500,000 awards to the best projects from the Script & Feature Lab and additional awards to financially support the further development of the projects.

 

The festival’s film program aims to be robust and energetic, launching feature-length and short film works with an emphasis on diversity in storytelling styles that push narrative form, embrace risk-taking in their ideas, and value craft. With a focus on the Global South, the program will also showcase the best of Arab and international cinema across several program sections.

 

Hussain Currimbhoy, who previously served as a documentary programmer at the Sundance Film Festival, joins the Festival as Artistic Director, and Shivani Pandya Malhotra, who brings a wealth of experience from the Dubai International Film Festival after managing it for 15 years, joins as Managing Director. Industry veteran Antoine Khalife joins as Director of the Arab Programme, Samaher Mously as Director of Marketing and Communications and Ibrahim Modir as Head of Operations. They join acclaimed filmmaker Sabbagh and a team of Saudi and international programmers and executives with the mission to launch a dynamic platform for new films, energize the culture of cinema, develop talent, build a local industry, promote Saudi films regionally and internationally, create an active market and increase cultural exchange and understanding.

 

The Festival is supported by The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization chaired by the Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, the first in the Saudi civil society law promoting the film culture. The Foundation aims at championing the local new film industry in the country that focuses on nurturing national storytellers and local original narratives through the Festival and it’s all year long education, grants programs and market initiatives.