Daily Times

One of the Middle East’s fastest-growing film festivals opened Thursday in Saudi Arabia, attracting filmmakers and stars from around the world, to present over 120 films from 81 countries in Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district.

The Red Sea International Film Festival, now in its fourth year, offers a vibrant lineup featuring a mix of world premieres and acclaimed international films. Since its launch in 2021, the festival has attracted major global talent. This year, the event will welcome Academy Award winners Viola Davis and Spike Lee, alongside Bollywood icons Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, strengthening its growing reputation on the international film circuit.

The festival opens with “The Tale of Daye’s Family” – a drama from Egyptian director Karim Shenawy that follows a Nubian boy’s perilous journey to audition for “The Voice.”

“I’m more excited than I am worried, because this film wouldn’t have happened without the efforts of so many people, all of whom are here with us. They feel that this is their film,” said Shenawy on opening night.

“I hope that the film will be an example of the kind of cooperation between Egypt and Saudi Arabia to produce nice cinema that has value at festivals and is widely accepted by the public. I think that this is a film that people will watch and love.”

American actress Michelle Rodriguez, also attending the festival, shared her thoughts on being in Saudi Arabia. “Aside of the vast history, I like the deep sense of identity and I think it’s very rare for people in a country to just have a very similar united point of view. And I think that that’s quite beautiful,” she said.

The Features Competition will present 16 movies highlighting works from filmmakers across the Arab region, Asia and Africa. Winners will be selected by a jury, led by Lee, awarding the Yusr Awards.

“I’m here to see and judge 16 films. This is not a vacation,” said Lee on the red carpet. “What’s new is that I’m going to see some great films by young filmmakers that I probably … haven’t heard of, but I’ll know about a lot of them after this festival.”

The movies in competition include Lotfi Achour’s “Red Path,” featured at the Locarno Film Festival and Mehdi M Barsaoui’s “Aïcha,” a Venice Film Festival selection. Also competing is Reema Kagti’s “Superboys of Malegaon,” an Indian film about an amateur filmmaker’s dream in the small town of Malegaon.

The Red Sea International Film Festival – founded by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and supported by the Red Sea Film Foundation – is funded by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund sovereign wealth fund and private sponsors. It aims to play a vital role in promoting regional filmmakers and fostering global connections.

The event comes as Saudi Arabia tries to expand its influence into films, gaming, sports and other fields. Activists have decried the investments as whitewashing the kingdom’s human rights record as it remains one of the world’s top executioners and tightly controls speech.