The 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival celebrated the world premiere and gala screening of LAIL NAHAR on the red carpet at Culture Square, as well as world premieres for BIN U BIN, ELSEWHERE THE BORDER and FARASAN BOAT with the cast and filmmakers.
LAIL NAHAR director Abdulaziz Almuzzaini and producer Almotaz Aljefri were joined on the red carpet by stars Ziyad Alamri, Abrar Faisal and the legendary Abdullah Alsadhan. BIN U BIN, ELSEWHERE THE BORDER stars Salim Kechiouche, Slimane Dazi and Hanaa Mansour were joined by producer Youcef Krache and Mohamed Lakhdar Tati, while FARASAN BOAT was represented by director Mowaffaq Alobaid and writer Nayif Nejer.
The five MENA premieres were also attended by cast and filmmakers, including a photo call for SONGS OF ADAM and red carpet walks for STATE OF SILENCE (director Santiago Maza); FAMILIAR TOUCH (writer & director Sarah Friedland); HANAMI (director Denise Fernandes) and THE LEGEND OF THE VAGABOND QUEEN OF LAGOS (directors Samuel Okechukwu & Tina Edukpo and cast Temiloluwa Ami-Williams & Debo Adedayo). Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei attended the red carpet as a special guest for LAIL NAHAR.
Insights & Explorations
2024 RSIFF Jury Head Spike Lee took some time out to share insights from his four decades of filmmaking with ‘In Conversation’ attendees, including how he writes films with parts that give young actors opportunities – as he did for then-unknowns Denzel Washington; Queen Latifah; Halle Berry; Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez.
At his ‘In Conversation’, a candid Jeremy Renner – having just completed filming of the third GLASS ONION film – spoke about the exciting avenues opening up for filmmakers in Saudi Arabia thanks to events like RSIFF, declaring that if any country can move the cinema scale needle quickly, it was Saudi Arabia.
Rounding out the day, Emmy, BAFTA and Lawrence Olivier Award winner Benedict Cumberbatch spoke about growing up with actor parents, studying law – and then finding his calling as an actor after a year teaching English, where he learned about Buddhism, which had a profound effect on him.
The Red Sea Souk’s ‘Snapshot of an Actor’ series hosted Hollywood icon Marisa Tomei and Academy Award nominee and BAFTA winner Dev Patel in conversations where they took plenty of questions from an audience of actors and filmmakers about their experience. Tomei discussed her love for theatre and the special feeling she gets at film festivals like RSIFF where filmmakers come together and get to watch and be influenced by films from around the world.
Patel spoke frankly about not being pigeonholed as ‘the gawky kid with the big ears’ he played in SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE by making his own place at the table with his directorial debut MONKEY MAN, the kind of film he felt his young self would love to have seen, growing up.
Souk Scene
On the Red Sea Souk schedule for the day were panel discussions including ‘Producing a Sustainable Career’ and ‘Leveraging Audience Insights for Film’. The former featured Steven Markovitz (Co-founder of the non-profit organisations Electric South, DocA and the Encounters Documentary Festival); Dede Nickerson (Strategic Advisor, Producer at DLN Media); Toni Kamau (Founder of We Are Not the Machine Ltd) and Anna Katchko, (Founder – Tandem Production), moderated by journalist, moderator and film festival consultant Wendy Mitchell. The producers and filmmakers shared their insights and best practices into how independent producers can take an entrepreneurial approach to building their own production companies that are sustainable for the long term.
The latter session discussed how filmmakers, distributors, exhibitors and marketing professionals can use new sources of data to help address the challenges of the film distribution landscape and move past the limitations of traditional marketing campaign planning. It featured speakers Ben Johnson (Gruvi – CEO); Nguyet Robbins (Gruvi – CRO) and Georges Asmar (Four Star Films – Marketing Manager).
Partnerships
Spacetoon and Yaqoot announced a partnership to produce a series of original animated shows aimed at Arab children and families. This partnership marks a significant milestone in the development of high-quality Arabic children’s content. By combining Spacetoon’s industry expertise with Yaqoot Studio’s creative vision, the two companies are committed to delivering engaging and educational entertainment that resonates with Arab audiences.
Millimeter and Academix also announced a strategic partnership at the Red Sea Film Festival, aimed at advancing Saudi Arabia’s film education and media industry. This collaboration, part of Millimeter’s CSR mission, aims to provide innovative training programs for recent graduates, corporate teams and professionals, helping upskill qualified experts to train others in the local film sector, while ensuring sustainable industry growth.
The Red Sea International Film Festival 2024 Closing Night And Awards
Talent Shines Bright On Day 7 Of The 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival
