The Red Sea International Film Festival announced the selection of twelve projects for its first edition of the Red Sea Lodge: Script & Feature lab. Today, an eminent jury composed of Nadia Turincev, Meinolf Zurhorst and Yousry Nasrallah selected and announced the winners of the two $500,000 production grants.<\/p>\n
The Red Sea Lodge Production Grant for a Saudi Project was awarded to\u202fSharshaf<\/strong>\u202fby\u202fHind Alfahhad<\/strong>, written by Hana Alomair<\/strong> and produced by Talal Ayel<\/strong>.\u202fThe jury said they were enamoured by the \u201cTouching and strong female character, and the bonds in a relationship that can bring us together and tear us apart.\u201d They were also intrigued that it was set in \u201cA period of Saudi Arabia\u2019s history the world knows so little about, unveiled to us by Hind Alfahhad.”<\/p>\n Hind Alfahhad\u2019s\u202fSharshaf<\/strong>\u202fis set\u202fin 1978. Haila, the daughter of a conservative Imam, marries Mosa’ed,\u202fthe son of a rich and well-known fabric stores owner. The young couple spend their honeymoon in Cairo. Sharshaf is a romantic drama that follows Haila as she gets to know what she wants through the magic of cinema and how this discovery is challenged later as extremism invades the society.<\/p>\n The Red Sea Lodge Award for an Arab Project was awarded to\u202fBullets & Bread<\/strong>\u202fby\u202fMohammad Hammad<\/strong>, produced by Kholoud Saad<\/strong> and Mohamed Hefzy<\/strong>.\u202fMohammed Hammad\u2019s\u202fBullets & Bread<\/strong> is based on the story of the writer Tamer Abdrab Elnaby. About\u202fpaths that were not meant to cross and a true friendship that grows out of it.<\/p>\n The jury enjoyed the dynamic at the film\u2019s heart which they described as\u202f\u201cA story about friendship and adversity. We can\u2019t wait to be part of this road trip, this cinematic voyage.\u201d<\/p>\n The Jury also gave a special mention to the Saudi Project\u202fFour Acts of Disruption<\/strong> directed\u202fby\u202fHussam AlHulwah<\/strong>\u202fand produced by Mohammad Alhamoud<\/strong>, which will be awarded $25,000 by the Red Sea Lodge for further development. The story is set in\u202fthe 1930s while the newly formed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is adjusting to the arrival of American oil prospectors. The jury gave special recognition to the project and stated \u201cThe film has huge potential and we hope that Hussam AlHulwah<\/strong> and Mohammad Alhamoud<\/strong> can continue to develop the project and bring it to fruition.\u201d<\/p>\n The six Saudi projects selected for the inaugural Red Sea Lodge:\u202fBasma\u202fwritten by Fatima Al-Banawi and directed by\u202fAli Alsumayin,\u202fPracticing Polygamy\u202fdirected by\u202fMalak Qouta,\u202fFour Acts of Disruption\u202fdirected by\u202fHussam AlHulwah,\u202fWhen The Star Goes Down\u202fdirected by\u202fMohammed Salman,\u202fSharshaf\u202fdirected by\u202fHind Alfahhad and\u202fHejj to Disney\u202fdirected by\u202fMaha Al-saati.<\/p>\n The six Arab projects:\u202fScheherazade Goes Silent<\/strong>\u202fdirected by\u202fAmira Diab,\u202fInchalla A boy<\/strong>\u202fdirected by\u202fAmjad Alrasheed,\u202fThe Arabic Interpreter<\/strong>\u202fdirected by\u202fAli Kareem<\/strong>,\u202fBullets & Bread<\/strong>\u202fdirected by\u202fMohammed Hammad<\/strong>,\u202fThe Basement Notes<\/strong>\u202fdirected by\u202fHadi Ghandour<\/strong>,\u202fand\u202fI Am Arz\u00e9<\/strong>\u202fdirected by\u202fMira Shaib<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In collaboration with the TorinoFilmLab, the Lodge hand-picked twelve emerging filmmakers, pairing each with an experienced mentor to support and enhance their work throughout the creative process.<\/p>\n The comprehensive program is for directors and producers, with scriptwriters if on board, to hone and further all aspects of their vision. Every stage of filmmaking was explored, from script consultations to working with experts in the fields of directing, cinematography and sound, through to post-production as well as a commercial focus on financing, sales, and audience engagement.<\/p>\n On another note of exciting news: Director Maha Al-Saati\u2019s<\/strong> Red Sea Lodge project\u202fHejj To Disney<\/strong>\u202fwas selected for TIFF Filmmaker Lab, and for the upcoming development programmes at Malmo Arab Film Festival (MAFF) and El-Gouna Film Festival.\u202fSaudi director Al Saati will also participate in The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) Residency in 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Red Sea International Film Festival announced the selection of twelve projects for its first edition of the Red Sea Lodge: Script & Feature lab. Today, an eminent jury composed of Nadia Turincev, Meinolf Zurhorst and Yousry Nasrallah selected and announced the winners of the two $500,000 production grants. The Red Sea Lodge Production Grant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9947,"template":"","class_list":["post-480","press","type-press","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redseafilmfest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redseafilmfest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redseafilmfest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redseafilmfest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redseafilmfest.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}