SOUK TALKS
Join the conversation with top voices redefining the Arab, African, and Asian film landscapes.
Souk Talks is our top-level conference program, offering essential insights into the Arab, African, and Asian film industries.
In 2025, Souk Talks will be open to all Red Sea International Film Festival badge holders, running throughout the Souk dates. These sessions will bring together some of the most influential and relevant voices from both the regional and international industry to discuss the issues that impacted the markets of the region and their integration into the global industry.
Stay tuned for more details on the 2025 Souk Talks!
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For more information, please reach out to souk@redseafilmfest.com.
Red Sea Souk Talks – Panels And Guest Speakers
Exploring TV Trends
Saturday Dec.7 / 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Venue: Cinema 1
TV production has moved through its recent boom times as the industry starts to contract — so what do series writers, directors and producers need to know about having the strongest chance of success in the TV landscape right now? What genres are working well, with which commissioners and networks, and what TV content is having an impact beyond its home territory?
Speakers
Nicholas Weinstock
Founder & President - Invention Studios
Nicholas Weinstock is the founder and president of Invention Studios. He has developed and produced movies including Bridesmaids, Alex Strangelove, Plus One, Dinner in America, Queenpins and Thelma, as well as television series including Escape at Dannemora on Showtime (nominated for 12 Emmy Awards); the four-season hit series In the Dark on Netflix; the Apple TV+ series High Desert; and the Emmy Award-winning Apple TV+ series Severance, which he continues to Executive Produce. Weinstock began his career as a book editor, journalist, and novelist in New York City. He is the author of the nonfiction book The Secret Love of Sons, the novels As Long as She Needs Me and The Golden Hour, and has written articles and essays for the New York Times Magazine, The Nation, National Public Radio, the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Vogue, and other national publications. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2004, Weinstock has run Apatow Productions with writer/director Judd Apatow; served as Senior Vice President of Chernin Entertainment; and headed Red Hour Films in partnership with actor/director Ben Stiller. Weinstock launched Invention in 2021 with a diverse and expansive slate of projects in Hollywood and across the globe. He is also the founder of Craft Services: an online support network and project incubator currently serving more than 800 emerging movie and TV writers across the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia, Africa and beyond. Weinstock serves on the executive council of the Authors Guild, based in New York City; on the board of the Africa International Film Festival, which takes place yearly in Lagos, Nigeria; on the board of Pavillon Afriques, the Cannes Film Festival’s platform devoted to pan-African cinema; and on the board of Get Lit, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles devoted to helping under-resourced students and communities through the power of poetry and spoken word. In 2022 he was elected to the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as a juror of the International Emmy Awards.
Tima Shomali
Creator, Director, Executive Producer Alrawabi School for Girls & CEO, Executive Producer for Filmizion Productions
Tima Shomali is an Arab Director, Producer, Writer and Actress. In 2013 Tima founded her own company “Filmizion Productions”, a Film and TV production company based in Amman – Jordan.
Through Filmizion Productions Tima has created multiple hit shows, including “FemaleShow” that was an instant regional success and was one of the most viewed shows in Jordan and the region at its time of release with 100+Million views up to date, The show has produced three seasons, the third and final season was released in 2016.
Tima’s most recent work is The Netflix Original “AlRawabi School for Girls”, Tima is the Producer, Creator, Showrunner and Director of the show. Season one was released in 2021 and Season two in February 2024. The series was in the top 10 TV shows on Netflix for more than three weeks in 43 countries around the world.
Tima has a BA in Business Administration and Finance and an MFA from The Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts – where she majored in screenwriting and producing. Tima was named as one of the most influential young Arabs in the world by Arabian Business Magazine for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017. Tima was on the Variety list of the Most Impactful women in Global entertainment in 2022.
Tima Shomali is an Arab Director, Producer, Writer and Actress. In 2013 Tima founded her own company “Filmizion Productions”, a Film and TV production company based in Amman – Jordan.
Through Filmizion Productions Tima has created multiple hit shows, including “FemaleShow” that was an instant regional success and was one of the most viewed shows in Jordan and the region at its time of release with 100+Million views up to date, The show has produced three seasons, the third and final season was released in 2016.
Tima’s most recent work is The Netflix Original “AlRawabi School for Girls”, Tima is the Producer, Creator, Showrunner and Director of the show. Season one was released in 2021 and Season two in February 2024. The series was in the top 10 TV shows on Netflix for more than three weeks in 43 countries around the world.
Tima has a BA in Business Administration and Finance and an MFA from The Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts – where she majored in screenwriting and producing. Tima was named as one of the most influential young Arabs in the world by Arabian Business Magazine for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017. Tima was on the Variety list of the Most Impactful women in Global entertainment in 2022.
David Davoli
President of International - Anonymous Content
David Davoli is the President of International at Anonymous Content, where he oversees their international division. This includes its various global joint ventures – Anonymous Content Brazil, Anonymous Content España, France-based Anonymous/Federation, Anonymous Content Nordic, U.K.-based AC Chapter One, and Anonymous Content Australia, a new partnership with Brouhaha Entertainment. Only two years into his position, Davoli continues to build out the visionary media company’s international expansion as a key member of its senior leadership team.
Prior to joining Anonymous, Davoli was the President of Television at BRON Studios where he oversaw development, production, co-productions, financing, and sales, and was the key dealmaker across all television efforts. He pioneered BRON’s international television strategy, where he identified IP, cultivated key relationships with creators, production companies, and broadcasters around the world, generated and managed complex international co-productions, raised over $125M in production financing, built out and provided a full studio service to service and deliver those co-productions, and sold into territories across the world, including the key US market.
Projects produced during his time leading BRON Television include The Idol for HBO, created by Sam Levinson, Reza Fahim, and The Weeknd, who also starred alongside Lily-Rose Depp; two seasons of the Irish family crime drama, Kin, which aired on AMC+, RTÉ, BBC and Netflix, and starred Charlie Cox, Aidan Gillen, Ciaran Hinds and Clare Dunne; Ten Percent, the English-language remake to the hit French series, Call My Agent!, which aired on Amazon Prime in the UK, and AMC+, Sundance Now and BBC America in the US, and starred Jack Davenport, Lydia Leonard, Maggie Steed, Prasanna Puwanarajah, and Jim Broadbent; a genre-bending spaghetti western, That Dirty Black Bag, which aired on AMC+, Paramount+ and Netflix, and starred Douglas Booth, Dominic Cooper, Niv Sultan, Paterson Joseph, Aidan Gillen and Travis Fimmel; and the epic post-WWII crime thriller, The Defeated, starring Taylor Kitsch, Logan Marshall Green, Michael C. Hall and Nina Hoss, which aired on Netflix. Prior to joining the TV group, Davoli worked at BRON as the Senior Vice President of Business Affairs where he closed countless active feature film and television deals.
Before joining BRON, Davoli was in private practice for 13 years as an entertainment attorney where he worked as production, finance and distribution counsel on over 50 independent film, television and new media programs, and spent a decade developing a keen knowledge of the international marketplace.
Ritesh Sidhwani
Co-founder - Excel Entertainment
Ritesh Sidhwani stands as a pivotal force and co-founder of the groundbreaking film production house, aptly named Excel Entertainment. The debut film under his helm, Dil Chahta Hai, not only attained cult status for pioneering a new genre in Indian cinema but also secured a National Award in 2001. Sidhwani’s impact on the cinematic landscape is twofold; introducing global filmmaking techniques and perspectives to Indian audiences, while also ensuring the widespread appeal of Hindi films to international viewers. His professionalism and dedication were further recognized in 2008 when he won the National Award for the musical Rock On.
Recently, Ritesh was invited to join the prestigious Academy as a member of the Class of 2024, highlighting his influential contributions to the film industry.
Over slightly more than a decade, Ritesh has played a crucial role in nurturing young talent by providing a platform in Excel for debutant directors, writers, and actors, fostering creative filmmaking. His diverse body of work, spanning over a dozen feature films, encompasses themes ranging from “coming of age” to fast-paced action thrillers. The essence of Excel’s success lies in its seamless blend of artistic vision and commercial acumen, showcased by box office hits like Dil Dhadakne Do, Talaash, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and Gully Boy (India’s first hip-hop film). Its storytelling brilliance has also given rise to beloved franchises such as Don and Fukrey.
Ritesh has taken his innovative spirit a step further by establishing an exclusive division under Excel Media & Entertainment to create original content for various digital platforms, transcending geographical boundaries and reaching larger audiences. Excel Entertainment’s initial foray into the digital realm resulted in India’s first original series, “Inside Edge,” on Amazon Prime Video, nominated for the International Emmy Awards 2018 in the Best Drama Series category. Following the success of Inside Edge, Amazon commissioned two more shows, Mirzapur and Made In Heaven, both earning critical acclaim and high viewership. In 2023, the series, Dahaad and Bambai Meri Jaan premiered internationally in Berlin and London respectively.
In 2024, under Ritesh Sidhwani’s leadership, Excel Entertainment, in collaboration with Tiger Baby and Amazon MGM Studios, premiered Superboys of Malegaon at the Toronto International Film Festival and the British Film Institute London Film Festival. Additionally, Boong, a co-production by Excel Entertainment, Chalkboard Entertainment, and Suitable Pictures, marked its debut at TIFF as the first fiction film from Manipur to be showcased there.
Ritesh has also been personally involved in the Dubai “Bollywood Parks” project, introducing experiential adventures featuring some of Excel’s film projects, allowing the audience to engage with larger-than-life moments. In his early years, Ritesh’s fascination with the film world clashed with his career at Marlex, his family’s home appliances company. After six years of enthusiastic learning and honing marketing and business development skills, he transitioned from marketing home appliances to establishing Excel Entertainment Private Limited in partnership with his long-time friend Farhan Akhtar, marking the beginning of a partnership that has consistently grown from strength to strength.
Moderator:
David Taghioff
Chief Executive Officer - Library Pictures International
David M. Taghioff is the Chief Executive Officer of Library Pictures International (Library), a Los Angeles-based global content financier. Under his leadership, Library focuses on supporting top-tier storytellers from around the world. Since its 2019 investment partnership with Legendary Entertainment, Library has become a premier independent film financier.
The company has co-financed and executive produced critically acclaimed films such as Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, winner of the Cannes Jury Prize and the Best Actress Award, awarded to the ensemble, as well as France’s submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards; Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here, which received the Best Screenplay award at the Venice Film Festival and will represent Brazil in the Best International Feature Film category; and Ron Howard’s Eden, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The company has also signed multi-year, multi-picture co-financing deals with CJ Entertainment and Next Entertainment World, aiming to produce local-language films in South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Turkey.
Prior to joining Library, Taghioff served as Co-Head of Global Client Strategy at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), where he played a pivotal role in identifying international business opportunities for the agency’s clients. His work involved advising major corporate clients such as Cirque du Soleil, Lionsgate, IMAX, and Reliance Entertainment on global initiatives. He also spearheaded cross-border film and television opportunities, architecting multiple local-language film slates for prominent clients of CAA, including Blumhouse Productions.
Earlier in his career, Taghioff held the position of Chief Operating Officer at Octagon, Inc., where he oversaw corporate operations, strategy, and finance for its entertainment division. Prior to Octagon, he was Co-Head of the William Morris Agency’s London office, where he managed corporate operations and spearheaded business development initiatives, particularly in digital media, international talent, and expansion into India and the Middle East.
Taghioff holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University. He is a member of the California State Bar
