There were a bunch of Hollywood A-List stars in Saudi Arabia today for the closing night gala of the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival!
01.12.2023 - 02:05 / deadline.com
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival launched its third edition on Thursday with a characteristically starry red carpet featuring the likes of Michelle Williams, Johnny Depp, Sharon Stone and Will Smith.
The kick-off had more of a local feel than the first two editions, however, with an Arabic-language film, the fantasy adventure HWJN, opening the festival for the first time.
Set against the backdrop of the festival’s home city of Jeddah, the drama stars rising Saudi actor Baraa Alem, as an endearing young djinn who falls for a young woman, played by emerging actress Nour Alkhadra.
Its selection as the opening title is seen as a sign of the growing strength of the film and TV business in Saudi Arabia, just six years after the lifting of the country’s 35-year cinema ban as part of its 2030 strategy aimed at moving the economy away from oil.
Directed by Iraqi Dubai-based filmmaker Yasir Al Yasiri, HWJN is one of the most ambitious films to come out of production pact between UAE-based film company Image Nation and exhibition giant VOX Cinemas and global media giant the MBC Group.
“It feels surreal to me,” Al Yasiri told Deadline on the red carpet. “We’re in the city where the story takes place… it feels like a fairy-tale.”
(WATCH) Yasir Yasari, director of @RedSeaFilm selection HWJN, tells Deadline about what it means to be premiering at #RedSeaIFF23 opening night pic.twitter.com/h8oddYDoRB
The film is playing Out of Competition in the Arab Spectacular sidebar, while another 17 films hailing from the MENA region and Africa are competing in the Main Competition. Elvis and Moulin Rouge! Director Baz Luhrmann is presiding over the jury, featuring Frieda Pinto, Joel Kinnaman and Amina Khalil.
Luhrmann told Deadline he had
There were a bunch of Hollywood A-List stars in Saudi Arabia today for the closing night gala of the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival!
The third annual Red Sea Film Festival handed out its Yusr Awards on Thursday night, with Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames taking Best Feature and Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher scoring a pair of wins including Best Actor for Saleh Bakri. See the full list below.
Nick Holdsworth At the closing ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival Thursday, which took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in front of an audience that included Hollywood stars Nicolas Cage, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Jason Statham and Adrien Brody, the Golden Yusr for best film and a $100,000 cash prize went to Pakistani-Canadian horror film “In Flames,” directed by Zarrar Kahn. The director said that the indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.” He urged “everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing.” The Silver Yusr prize for best feature film went to Tarsem Singh for “Dear Jassi.” The film, an India/Canada/U.S.
Andrew Garfield shared insights into his early days in Hollywood, experiences working on the Spider-Man franchise and thoughts about Red Sea International Festival Festival during his masterclass at the festival today.
Chris Hemsworth wears a relaxed gray suit while stepping out for the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival on Monday (December 4) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
MBC Studios is developing a series adaptation of popular Saudi writer Osamah Almuslim’s best-selling debut horror novel Khawf (Fear).
The Aussies took over Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival this evening as Elvis filmmaker Baz Luhrmann sat down for a career Q&A with actor Chris Hemsworth.
Saudi Arabia‘s Red Sea International Film Festival is midway through its third edition, running November 30 to December 9 in the palatial surroundings of the seafront Ritz Carlton in the port city of Jeddah.
John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Some of the most powerful figures in Saudi film gathered at the Ritz Carlton in Jeddah for a cocktail party hosted by Film AlUla and Stampede Ventures in partnership with Variety last night. Figures such as Saudi producer and film industry pioneer Faisal Baltyuor and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy were spotted along with Zeinab Abu Alsamh, general manager of MBC Studios Saudi Arabia. Stampede Ventures head Greg Silverman was celebrating the $350 million three-year deal just signed with Film AlUla, which will bring 10 projects to the region.
Pan Middle East and North African film distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has promoted staffers Nicolas Torloting, Carine Chaiban and Elie Touma to partners.
Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor While introducing the Middle East and North Africa premiere of John Woo’s “Silent Night” at the Red Sea Film Festival, actor Joel Kinnaman emphasized the rare opportunity to have “everyone in the world watching the same film.” The actor is referring to the fact that Woo’s first U.S. film in 20 years features no language — no spoken language, that is — and so needs no subtitles. The characters in the revenge thriller have not a single line of dialogue throughout the film, with the only snippets of speech coming from diegetic music, a few brief radio broadcasts and phone messages.
The Pentagon has said an American warship and multiple commercial ships have come under attack Sunday in the Red Sea.
Will Smith has revealed that the development of I Am Legend 2 is moving at pace, with both him and Michael B. Jordan on board and a first script delivered.
Halle Berry and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the high-profile names that have been added to the popular ‘In-Conversation’ sidebar section at the third edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival. Scroll down for the full list of attendees.
French director Maïwenn and Johnny Depp hit Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival on Friday for a special screening of period romance Jeanne du Barry followed by a Q&A.
The stars are stepping out for the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival.
Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The third edition of the Red Sea Film Festival, taking place in Jeddah between Nov. 30 – Dec. 9, will be the culmination of a highly successful funding cycle for the Red Sea Film Foundation.
Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The intensity of the screams rumbling within the imposing Red Sea Mall could mean only one thing: there is a Bollywood star in Jeddah. The star in question is Ranveer Singh, one of the honorees at this year’s Red Sea Film Festival.
Five-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams joined us at our Deadline Red Sea Film Festival studio this week to discuss regional change, the role cinema played in her education as an actress and her next project: FX limited series Dying For Sex, which we detailed yesterday.
Former Mister Smith sales executive Antone Saliba has launched management and production company Untamed Talent, with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions.