Deadline reports that the Berlin Film Festival has its titles for its Panorama section this February. And while not the Festival’s main titles in competition, it’s a stellar crop of films annually.
04.12.2022 - 21:31 / deadline.com
As Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival kicks into gear in Jeddah, a parallel film program is underway 300 miles north in the small desert town of AlUla.
Located in the northwest region of the Kingdom, AlUla County is the centerpiece in the Saudi government’s efforts to attract local and international productions to shoot in the region with its untouched wilderness and expansive valley that is home to two mountain ranges, three volcanoes and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hegra, where Deadline caught up with writer-director Guy Ritchie.
Ritchie is among the large delegation of Hollywood names that this week traveled to the country for Red Sea and made their way up to AlUla. Other guests include actors Scott Eastwood, Lucy Hale, and Henry Golding.
The first major project to shoot in the AlUla region was Anthony and Joe Russo’s war pic Cherry, starring Tom Holland. While that film only shot three days in the region, local officials told Deadline that establishing an industry that facilitates production is a top priority for the country’s senior leadership. In 2022, Film AlUla, the regional culture agency established by the Royal Commission for AlUla, handed out 155 film permits, up from 75 in 2021. Saudi Arabia only lifted its decades-long ban on cinema in 2017 as part of sweeping reforms to open up its society and the economy.
Below, Guy Ritchie speaks to Deadline about why he decided to travel to Saudi, what he believes the role of a film festival should be, and his forthcoming series adaptation of his 2019 film The Gentlemen.
DEADLINE: Throughout your career, you haven’t shown many of your films at festivals, so why did you think it was important to come to Red Sea? And what do you think is the role of a film
Deadline reports that the Berlin Film Festival has its titles for its Panorama section this February. And while not the Festival’s main titles in competition, it’s a stellar crop of films annually.
The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the first titles selected for its Panorama section at the upcoming in-person edition that takes place February 16-26. (Scroll down for the full list)
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walked the red carpet for the Women in Cinema event at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Dressed in head-to-toe red, Hale wore a pant set with cutouts down the arms and legs with sweet bow details.
Bollywood megastar Akshay Kumar revealed that he is making a feature on the theme of sex education that he hopes to release next spring during an In-Conversation event at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival on Saturday.