Region African Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has revealed details of the Red Sea Souk, the fest’s industry market that will offer meeting and networking opportunities revolving around new Arab and African product. The Souk will take place Dec. 2-5 alongside the Nov.

The Red Sea International Film Festival, has unveiled the 26 projects selected as part of its industry-focused Red Sea Souk Market, running from December 2 to 5.

Red Sea Fund & Film AlUla Partner On Production GrantThe Red Sea Fund has partnered with Film AlUla to offer a production grant for filmmakers with projects set within the landscape of AlUla in northwest Saudi Arabia. The Red Sea Fund and Film AlUla will be named as co-producers on all selected films, and Saudi Arabia will be a co-production country. The two bodies said chosen filmmakers will be given “free rein” on their creative project and will be judged purely on the quality of the production, talent, and script. Projects from Saudi Arabia, the Arab regions, and Africa are eligible for the Film AlUla fund. The fund will sponsor at least 10 projects. Mohammed Al Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “Our aim as an organization is to uplift and support filmmakers from the Arab and African region and to promote the industry in Saudi Arabia – which is home to incredible filming locations like AlUla. We are delighted to have Film AlUla as a partner on this third cycle of funding, which will provide fund recipients the opportunity to bring their creative visions to life on the big screen as well as showcase the beauty and diversity of this country, with the backing of two significant partners.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has announced a dozen projects from young filmmakers from Saudi, and the wider Arab and African region, selected for its development program, the Red Sea Lodge, in collaboration with TorinoFilmLab and sponsored by the Film AlUla film commission. The Lodge is a 10-month mentorship program that has now opened up to African works along with Saudi and Arab projects. Winners will take home a portion of the total $200,000 pot in prizes that will be awarded during the fest’s 2023 edition in December.  The selected projects from Saudi Arabia are:

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticThe New York component of this fall’s consciousness-raising Global Citizen Festival will bring together artists as stylistically diverse as Mariah Carey, Metallica, Maneskin, Rosalia, Mickey Guyton, Charlie Puth and the Jonas Brothers — with a “bonus Jonas,” as it were, in the form of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the activist who’ll host for the live audience in Central Park Sept. 24 as well as an ABC broadcast special the following night.The stars will shine as brightly far away from Manhattan, as well, in Accra, Ghana, where the other half of the event will go down — also on Sept.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. TV producer Content Kings and production finance broker and distribution agent Silverlining Rights have revealed a raft of international pre-sales for “Diana: The Ultimate Truth” (1×60’), a documentary which investigates the circumstances leading up to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, 25 years ago.

A Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle is set to get the green light from the Premier League despite warnings from Amnesty International on Thursday that the deal represents "sportswashing" of the Gulf kingdom's human rights record.

Gallery: The most talked-about gala dresses (Espresso)She captioned the footage: 'Excited to be in Qatar honoring Fashion Trust Arabia, a non-profit organization with a mission to provide financial support and global recognition to emerging designers in the Middle East and North African region.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music Group has announced an investment in the Arab world’s largest independent record label, Rotana Music, which is part of Rotana Group, widely considered the largest entertainment company in the region.

We speak to award winning ‘Frog Lady’, Dr Jeanne Tarrant, who heads up the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Threatened Amphibian Programme, is the Chairperson of the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, southern African region, media representative of the Herpetological Association Of Africa and 2020 Whitley Award winner. Dr Tarrant tells us about the state of frogs and the effects of habitat loss, pollution, invasive plants and superstition has had on them.