The third day of the 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival marked the international premiere of SUKKAR: SABAABAA W HOUBOUB AL KHARZIZ and world premieres of HOBAL and TALES ON THE BANKS OF THE BOSPHORUS.
There were also MENA premieres for LUMIERE, LE CINEMA; TO KILL A MONGOLIAN HORSE; SIMA’S SONG and RED PATH, the GCC premiere of THE INEVITABLE JOURNEY TO FIND A WEDDING DRESS and a gala screening of NAPOLI – NEW YORK. Stars, directors, producers and key crew from all the films walked the red carpet at Culture Square in the heart of Al Balad, celebrating a phenomenal mixture of cultures.
From the Mouths of Legends
Egyptian screen icon Mona Zaki – a 2024 RSIFF Honouree – and Turkish stars Engin Altan and Nurgül Yeşilçay participated in the ‘In Conversation’ series. Zaki spoke about the way the stars aligned to make FLIGHT 404 a success and said that her ambition is to continue to learn through the different characters she portrays, since each one is a challenge.
Engin Altan said he was honoured to be invited to the RSIFF and was proud to see it growing each year, noting its importance in supporting cinema in the region. Nurgül Yeşilçay, asked about a character she’d played that she didn’t like, said she was lucky enough to be able to not accept roles she may not like and had played every role lovingly, investing energy and love into each character.
Sharing Ideas, Spreading Knowledge
The Red Sea Souk kicked off today, providing unbeatable access to the vibrant Saudi film scene. The Souk is the place to discover the people, projects and ideas defining the Saudi, Arab, African and Asian markets. It is home to distributors, sales agents and producers developing networks across the region and will be open until 11 December.
Moderated by David Taghioff, Chief Executive Officer for Library Pictures International, the ‘Exploring TV Trends’ Red Sea Souk session took participants through how to prepare to have the best chance of success in the industry as we contend with a contracting market. Speakers included David Davoli (Anonymous Content – President International); Nicholas Weinstock (Invention Studios – Founder & President); Tima Shomali (Creator, Director, Executive Producer of Alrawabi School for Girls & CEO, Executive Producer for Filmizion Productions) and Ritesh Sidhwani (Co-founder of Excel Entertainment).
A feast of knowledge was laid out for cinephiles as Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux and RSIFF Head of International Programming, Kaleem Aftab gave aspiring filmmakers insights into the creative minds of cinema icons.
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