Project Market
Rules and Regulations
The Red Sea Souk Project Market for Projects in Development or Production is designed to support projects by fostering international co-production and to discover new talents.
The Project Market, dedicated to industry professionals, will take place from 07-11 December 2024, in Jeddah as part of the Red Sea Souk, the film market of the Red Sea International Film Festival (the “Festival”).
The Project Market will welcome feature films: fiction, animation, and creative documentary by Directors of African, Arab or Asian nationality or of Arab origin (Appendix 1) and currently in the development or production stage (minimum duration of 60’).
A press release will announce the selected projects of films to the international and regional industry.
The team (Director and Producer) of the selected projects will be allocated an industry mentor to support their participation in the market, assess what the project needs and provide bespoke support to ensure the most useful market experience. Support will be both online before the Festival and in Jeddah prior to the Project Market.
A Book of Projects will be made available on the Festival website and delivered to the industry guests attending the Red Sea Souk, giving visibility to the teams and the projects.
The teams (Directors/Producers) of the selected projects will present their projects at the Souk to an industry audience on December 7th, 2024.
One-to-one meetings between the project teams and the industry professionals attending the Red Sea Souk will be organized between 8-11 December 2024.
Additional Souk networking events, encounters, and meetings will allow Directors and Producers of the selected projects to interact directly with a wide range of industry decision-makers.
Selected filmmakers who do not speak English will benefit from the service of an interpreter hired by the Red Sea Souk.
All the selected projects will compete for three main awards offered by the Red Sea Fund and
granted by an international Jury:
- Development Award: US$ 30,000 cash prize
- Special Mention Award: US$ 20,000 cash prize
- Production Award: US$ 75,000 cash prize
A selected project, which is already supported by the Red Sea Fund, is still eligible for these awards.
A project which has unsuccessfully applied to the Fund may also be considered by the Selection Committee to participate in the Project Market.
Selected projects will also compete for awards to be granted by Souk partners. These awards will be announced mid-November.
All the winners will be announced during the Red Sea Souk Award Ceremony which will be held on the last day of the Red Sea Souk, 11 December 2024.
Projects must be submitted through the Red Sea Souk application process.
The call for projects will close on 15 July 2024.
Please pay attention to the following eligibility criteria:
- Directors must meet one of the following criteria:
- For Saudi directors, the Director must be of Saudi nationality or origin.
- For Arab directors, the Director must be of Arab nationality or origin.
- For African or Asian projects, the Director must strictly be of African or Asian nationality (Appendix 1)
- Script and artistic dossier must be available in English.
- Projects must be submitted by the Delegate Company production for the application.
- Only projects which have not started shooting before the closing of the Souk Project Market on 11 December will be eligible.
- The Director and Producer must be available to participate for the full duration of the Project Market in Jeddah (6-11 December 2024).
- Priority will be given to projects with a Producer or Co-producer with African, Arab or Asian (Appendix 1) nationality/origin.
Special attention will be given to projects with an international market potential and suitable for international co-production.
Projects which have not been presented in other international markets will also have priority.
The following documents need to be submitted in English:
- Logline
- Synopsis
- Film's chain of titles
- Script and/or treatment
- Biographies of director(s) and producer(s) are already attached to the project
- Director’s note of intention
- Producer’s note
- Cast and crew list (if available)
- Financial plan and indication of sources of financing confirmed, if any
- A summary budget with main chapters figures detailed
- For projects in development, a Development Budget
- Project completion timelines
- Links to the previous work(s) of the Director
- Mood board/Storyboard
Any other materials that would support the application.
The selection of the projects is made by a committee composed of industry professionals and the senior Project Market team. Ten to twelve projects will be selected. No justifications will be given for any refusal of the project.
The selection results will be communicated to the selected teams by early October 2024.
Producers of the selected projects must confirm their acceptance of the Red Sea Souk invitation within a week of the offer. This confirmation is binding for both Parties and will involve the acceptance of all regulations established by the Red Sea Souk.
Notably, the following conditions and undertakings will apply:
- The Red Sea Souk will cover travel expenses and accommodation for seven nights, for the Director, and for one Producer, for each of the selected projects (05-11 December 2024 inclusive).
- The documentation required by the Red Sea Souk for the Book of Projects, one-to-one meetings platform and website will be duly completed and sent no later than 27 October 2024.
- The invitation made to each selected project will remain strictly confidential until the official announcement is published.
- The complete program and all activities of the Project Market are exclusively decided by the Red Sea Souk.
- No press will be given access to the screenings of the video pitch.
As a binding condition, all selected projects must include the authorized Red Sea Souk logo and the following mention in the closing credits of the film:
“With the support of the Red Sea Souk Project Market 2024”
The projects that will be awarded the Red Sea Souk Development Award, the Red Sea Souk Jury Mention Award or the Red Sea Souk Production Award must display alongside the Red Sea Souk Logo with the appropriate mention:
“Red Sea Souk Production Award 2024”
“Red Sea Souk Development Award 2024”
“Red Sea Souk Special Mention Award 2024”
and follow all other obligations with respect to credits which may be requested by the Red Sea Souk.
If other film partners appear in the opening credits, the Red Sea Souk logo and the award mention must also be included in the opening credits.
The project owners must ensure they are legitimately entitled to enter and represent the project at the Project Market.
Participation in the Project Market constitutes unconditional adherence to the present Red Sea Souk rules and 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.
Information contact : [email protected]
Appendix 1 (African, Arab or Asian Countries List): Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macao, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.