Following major success in its 2022 edition in December, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival will return this year for its third edition. With the dates having been announced, the annual event will take place from 30th November to 9th December 2023 in the coastal city of Jeddah.
Last year’s edition was highly revered for the rapid expansion of the kingdom’s burgeoning film industry and its creative talents, having hosted 143 films from 66 countries to 39,410 filmgoers and 4,345 film professionals, media members and students.
CEO Mohammed Al-Turki, said of the forthcoming festival, “Our second edition was a huge success and signified that the Red Sea International Film Festival is evolving into a global event that we are very proud of and grateful to everyone who supported us. We are still navigating our way being a young festival and film industry but have been delighted with the feedback from the local community, regional and international guests.”
The Red Sea International Film Festival’s second edition also highlighted films from Saudi Arabia, the rest of the Arab region, Asia and Africa. The festival’s film competition had Oscar-winning filmmaker, Oliver Stone leading the jury, who had also presented 13 Yusr Awards to the participating filmmakers.
The top prize, Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film was awarded to “Hanging Gardens” directed by Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji and the Film Al Ula Audience Award for Best Saudi Film was won by “How I Got There,” directed by Zeyad Al-Husaini.
Al Turki added, “We were honored to welcome some of the leading voices in Hollywood, Bollywood, South Korea, Africa and Arab cinema, sharing their journeys to the big screen with a new generation of Saudi creatives who are capturing the attention of the global film industry. Throughout the year, we will continue to support emerging filmmakers, welcome productions to shoot against our extraordinary landscapes and plan for our third edition as we continue to make our mark on the Festival circuit.”
