The first edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF) in partnership with VOX Cinemas, MBC GROUP and Saudia Airlines closed on a high this evening with the world premiere of the highly anticipated Indian film, ’83 directed by Kabir Khan. The director walked the VOX Cinemas’ red carpet along with the stars of the film Ranveer Singh, and Deepika Padukone who also serves as a producer on the film. They were joined by cricket legends on whom the film is based Kapil Dev Mohinder ‘Jimmy’ Amarnath and Srikkanth providing a sensational send off to the Festival’s inaugural edition.
The 10-day Festival showcased 138 films and shorts from 67 countries in 34 languages along with a packed industry programme and diverse range of music events enjoyed by thousands of local, regional and international guests in Jeddah’s UNESCO World Heritage Site old-town (Al Balad), nestled on the eastern shore of the Red Sea.
‘83 tells the true story of the charismatic Kapil Dev, played by Ranveer Singh, who led the Indian cricket team to its first World Cup victory in 1983 at the hallowed Lord’s Cricket Ground in London against the West Indies, regarded at the time as invincible. A generation of Indian children were inspired to take up the game and, more broadly, to aim high in life, and the anniversary is still celebrated, 38 years on. Kabir Khan’s Hindi epic tells this triumphant story with fastidious attention to detail – the actors trained for months with the real cricketers they were playing to understand the nuances of the sport – and a huge narrative sweep.
‘83, presented by Reliance Entertainment, Phantom Films and Kabir Khan Films, will have its world premiere at the Festival’s public closing on 15th December, ahead of its release across the Gulf region on December 23rd and worldwide release on 24th December. The highly anticipated sports biopic is being distributed across the GCC by VOX Cinemas.
Toni El Massih, Managing Director, VOX Cinemas added, “We are proud to be bringing this inspiring true story to big screens across the region and, thrilled to be sharing it with the world for the first time at the Red Sea International Film Festival. Over the last 10 days, the festival has screened an impressive line-up of films and, as Festival Partner, VOX Cinemas is particularly proud that ‘83 has been selected as the final movie of the inaugural edition. The trailer for ‘83 broke records as the most viewed Bollywood trailer in 24 hours and, we expect it to be a big hit with moviegoers across the region when it releases later this month.”
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