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DEVELOPMENT
RULES AND REGULATIONS

ELIGIBILITY

The following criteria will be applied: [1]

  • Feature fiction, documentary, or animation films of a minimum length of sixty (60) minutes.
  • Short films, fiction, documentary, or animation, that do not exceed (59) minutes, only for projects by Saudi directors.
  • Series of (25-59) minutes per episode.
  • Director of African nationality or Arab nationality/origin [2].
  • Production company profile, registration documents, and passport of the authorized signatory as well as an official document proving the legal authorization and capacity of the signatory to sign on behalf of the company to enter into the Red Sea Fund Agreement for feature and series projects (if project is selected).

The following documents are to be submitted in English, excluding the Script for Saudi projects, which can be submitted in Arabic:

  Mandatory Documents

  • Logline (minimum 30 words, maximum 80 words)
  • Synopsis (minimum 300 words, maximum 500 words)
  • Writer’s Treatment
  • Director’s Statement/vision
  • Director’s motivation in a video (please include captions)
  • Copy of the director’s passport
  • Producer’s note
  • Director(s) and producer(s) biographies
  • Mood board
  • Complete project budget estimate (covering all stages: development, production, and post-production)
  • Financial plan: full details of any other funding applications made and/or already received
  • How the grant money will be utilized during the development stage, should the project be selected
  • Timelines and expected date of development completion
  • Film’s chain of titles

 Optional Documents

  • Script
  • Storyboard
  • Links to the previous work of the director
  • Potential list of cast and crew with biographies
  • The writer’s treatment can be submitted in the original language as an additional document
  • Any other material that would support the application

 

1 Unless a special waiver is granted by the Red Sea Fund at its sole discretion.

2 African or Arab countries are: Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

 

SELECTION OF PROJECTS
  • Only completed online applications as per the instructions listed in the online application form and the required documents will be reviewed and considered. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
  • Applicants will be informed in writing of the Red Sea Fund Committee’s decision, approximately eight (8) weeks after the closing date.
  • The Red Sea Fund Committee’s decision is final. Red Sea Fund will not provide any justification and/ or comments regarding the final decision on the selection or not of projects.
  • Selected projects will receive letters from the Red Sea Fund detailing the amount of the financial support and the way forward and requiring the authorized person to revert in writing whether by accepting or declining the funding within a certain number of days.
  • Applicants of successful projects must enter into a Development funding agreement (the “Red Sea Fund Agreement”) within a maximum of four (4) weeks following the receipt of the above letter.
  • All submitted projects, whether selected or not by the Red Sea Fund, will automatically be considered for a possible selection to participate in the Red Sea Souk Project Market during the Festival (the “Project Market”). The Applicants acknowledge and accept that such project will be reviewed by the selection committee of the Festival and may be selected during the Festival for presentation at the Red Sea Souk Project Market.
  • Selected projects in the Red Sea Development Fund may apply for either Red Sea Production Fund or Red Sea Post-production Fund.
CREDITS
  • The applicant must provide for Red Sea Fund approval, proof of any financing for the project from other sources, whether in cash or in kind, that would generate credits or acknowledgements.
  • Red Sea Fund shall be recognized as “Supported by” in the film credits and is to be acknowledged with a prominent logo on the credits of the film as well as on publicity and all promotional materials relating to the film including but not limited to DVDs, internet, press releases and posters. More specific credit and compliance requirements will be described in Red Sea Fund Agreement.
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COMPLETION OF THE FILM AND PAYMENT BY THE FUND
  • The payment schedule will be hundred percent (100%) of the Development Grant to be paid to the Rights Holder’s nominated bank account. The following material will constitute the Delivery Materials which the Rights Holder will deliver to Red Sea Fund
  • On completion of the Film:
  • Treatment
  • Screenplay
  • Development Schedule
UNSUCCESSFUL PROJECTS AND RE-SUBMISSION
  • Projects that have been unsuccessful in their initial application to Red Sea Fund are eligible for resubmitting provided the applicant can demonstrate substantive changes since the initial application.
  • Red Sea Fund Committee may invite an unsuccessful project to be resubmitted for a later deadline. This decision is made solely at the discretion of the Red Sea Fund Committee which will notify the applicant if the case may be.
LEGAL
  • Red Sea International Film Festival Foundation (“The Foundation”) is the owner and organizer of the Red Sea International Film Festival (“RSIFF”). Red Sea Fund is an initiative of The Foundation. References to ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘our’, are references to The Foundation.
  • During the submission, selection period and prior to the execution of the Red Sea Fund Agreement, in the event that the applicant is found to be in violation of any condition of the Rules and Regulations or any of the Red Sea Fund’s conditions for eligibility, we at our sole discretion, may choose to cancel and eliminate such project from the applications or the selection Red Sea Fund project list.
  • We will, in our sole discretion, decide on all issues and matters not foreseen by these Rules and Regulations and any of Red Sea Fund’s conditions and we reserve the right to update and/or cancel any or any part of these Rules & Regulations or any of Red Sea Fund’s conditions with no obligation to specifically contact or notify any applicant of any variation.
  • The law applicable to the Rules and Regulations and to disputes arising out of the Rules and Regulations are the federal laws of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Disputes arising in connection with these Rules and Regulations shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Saudi Arabia.
  • The applicant also understands and acknowledges that the Red Sea Fund Online Application and the present Rules and Regulations form a consolidated and unified document.
  • Participation in Red Sea Fund and submission of the Red Sea Fund Online Application implies acceptance of these Rule and Regulations. It is the responsibility of the applicants or other authorized representatives submitting a project to ensure that they are lawfully entitled to enter a project in Red Sea Fund.
  • The applicant hereby represents and warrants that he/she holds all rights in and to the project and its related materials and that he/she has the authority and capacity to submit the project and its related material for Red Sea Fund.
  • Except as stated in the Rules and Regulations, the applicant acknowledges that we shall not be held liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any loss or damage of whatever type or nature incurred as a result of the submission, acceptance and/or funding the project. Furthermore, the applicant undertakes to indemnify and keep us indemnified against all liabilities, claims, demands, actions, costs, damages or loss arising out of the submission, acceptance and/or funding the project.