Skip to content
Contact: Julie Bergeron, [email protected]
  1. Description
A workshop for industry professionals organized during the Red Sea Souk (the “Workshop”) with the aim of supporting the completion of Arab and African feature films and to foster their international distribution. The Workshop will take place from December 8 – 11, 2021, at the Red Sea Souk, the film market of the 1st edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival (the “Festival”). The Workshop is a four-day program during the Festival composed of the following:
  1. The selected teams will participate to a workshop with an expert to prepare for the screening of the working copy of their film during the Red Sea Souk. The workshop will take place on-line during the month of October 2021.
  2. The working copies of a selection of films in the post-production phase (the “Films in-Progress”) will be screened for a strictly professional audience. Only industry pass holders will be allowed to attend the screenings: producers, distributors, exhibitors, buyers, TV networks, and technical industries, film funds, festival programmers and film institutions, in order to help them achieve completion, distribution and public exhibition. No press will be given access to the Screenings.
  3. One-on-one meetings between the Films in-Progress teams and the professionals attending the Festival will be organized.
  4. Networking, encounters and meetings will allow directors and producers of the selected Films in-Progress to interact directly with industry decision-makers.
  1. Awards
All selected Films in-Progress* will compete for the Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award in the amount of USD 30,000.00 to cover post-production expenses. *If a selected Film in-Progress is already supported in post-production by the Red Sea Fund, it will be eligible to the Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award and the award will then be granted as an additional funding by the Red Sea Fund representing 50% of the post-production support already granted by the Red Sea Fund and needed to complete the film. The Red Sea Fund will manage the Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award in accordance with its own rules and regulations. All selected Films in-Progress will also compete for different awards to be granted by some of the Festival’s sponsors. These sponsors’ awards will be announced closer to the Festival. All awards will be presented at an awards ceremony on the last day of the Red Sea Souk.
  1. Submissions / Eligibility
The submission of the films is made through the Red Sea Fund application process for post-production support. The Festival also reserves the right to scout and hand-pick films in post-production not submitted to the Red Sea Fund. The call for films in post-production by the Red Sea Fund is open from June 9, 2021 and will close on July 21, 2021. All projects submitted to the Red Sea Fund (for post-production support) will be considered for the Films in-Progress Workshop, if the applicant has confirmed in the application form his/her acceptance to be considered. Don’t forget to confirm in the application! We will be looking for films in-progress meeting the following criteria:
  1. Special attention will be given to first or second feature films, fiction, animation and documentary, (minimum duration of 60’)
  2. The director must be of African nationality or Arab nationality/origin.
  3. Priority will be given to films in-progress with no sales agent attached.
  4. The film has not been screened as a work-in-progress, or otherwise, in any other festival or market prior to the Red Sea Souk.
  5. The film is currently at the post-production stage and the director and producer agree and are entitled to screen a working copy (entire film) at the Red Sea Souk.
  6. A film in post-production that was submitted to the official sections of the Festival but was not selected may be considered by the Selection Committee, upon recommendation by the programmers of the Festival, to participate to the Workshop the same year, even if it has not applied for funding to the Red Sea Fund.
  7. If the film is not in the English language, it must come with English subtitles at the time of its application to the Red Sea Fund.
  1. Selection Process
The selection for the Workshop is made by a committee named by the Festival (the “Selection Committee”). Six to eight films will be selected for the Workshop. The Festival reserves the right to decide on the final number of films to be selected. The selection results will be communicated to the selected teams by September 15, 2021. The Festival will request the signing of all required forms and contracts to confirm legal acceptance of the invitation and the Grant by October 1st, 2021. This confirmation by the producers will involve that they cannot withdraw their film from the Workshop and that they accept all regulations established by the Festival. Notably, the following conditions and undertakings will apply:
  1. The Festival will cover travel expenses and accommodations for the director, and for one producer, for each of the selected films, for six nights (Arrival December 6, Departure December 12 2021).
  2. The producers of the selected projects will confirm their presence and that of the film’s director for the full duration of the Workshop, no later than October 1st, 2021.
  3. The documentation required by the Festival for its official catalogues, platforms and website will be duly completed and sent no later than October 15, 2021. A link through which to supply the information and the images will be sent with the invitation.
  4. Once selected, the film cannot be included in any VoD platforms with the exception of cases where their use is strictly professional and has restricted access.
  5. The invitation made to each selected film will remain strictly confidential between the Festival and the producers or representatives of the invited film until such time as the Festival decides to make an official announcement in this regard.
  6. The complete Red Sea Souk program and all screening times are exclusively decided by the Festival.
  1. Screening material and subtitles
The format accepted for the Screenings is exclusively MOV files. The MOV files must have been previously viewed and approved by the producer/ distributor. The MOV files, in the original version with Arabic* and English subtitles, and the subtitles lists, must be sent no later than November 23rd, 2021 at the address to be specified by the Festival. Should the MOV files not arrive by that date, the screenings will be canceled. *The cost of subtitling in English is the responsibility of the film producers or representatives. The Festival offers to take care of the Arabic subtitles, at its cost, if the film is not originally in the Arabic language. In this case, the Festival must receive the MOV file with English subtitles, and the English subtitles list, no later than October 1st, 2021. The Festival reserves the right to reject MOV files found to be unsuitable for screening during control by its Technical Department. In the event of irregularities in the MOV files, the Festival will issue the film owners or representatives with the corresponding technical report.
  1. Credits
As a binding condition, all selected Films in-Progress must include the authorized logo and the mention “With the support of the Red Sea International Film Festival” in the closing credits of the film. If other film partners appear in the opening credits, the same logo and mention must also be included in the opening credits. Also, they will have to include in the closing credits of the film the logo of the Festival with the phrase “The film took part in the Red Sea Souk Films in-Progress Workshop”. In addition to the above, the film that will be awarded the Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award has to display alongside the logo of the Festival the mention “Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award 2021” and follow all other obligations which may be requested by the Red Sea Fund.
  1. General Terms
Participation to the Workshop constitutes unconditional adherence to the present rules and to the Festival regulations. All doubts arising from the interpretation of these rules and regulations will be solved by the Festival. The Festival reserves the right to settle any case not covered by the present or the Festival’s regulations, and to waive them in special and well-motivated instances.