Jeddah – Ahmed Farouk:
Published on: Friday, December 1, 2023 – 6:08 AM | Last updated: Friday, December 1, 2023 – 7:33 AM
Yesterday evening, Thursday, the third session of the Red Sea International Film Festival was launched, under the slogan “Your Story… Your Festival,” and its activities will continue until December 9, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The festival witnessed a remarkable presence by international movie stars Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Catherine Deneuve, Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara, Indian star Ranveer Singh, Turkish stars Burak Ozcivit, Hande Erçel, Meryem Uzerli, and Egyptian movie stars Nabila Obaid, Yousra, and Laila. Alawi, Sherine Reda, Lebleba, Yasmine Rais, Yasmine Sabry, Amina Khalil, directors Yousry Nasrallah, Magdy El Hawari, in addition to Nadine Nassib Njeim, Maggie Bou Ghosn, Carmen Bsaibes, and Maya Diab, from Lebanon, and Dhafer El Abidine and Hend Sabry, from Tunisia, Qusay Khouli and Karis Bashar from Syria, in addition to Australian director, producer and writer Baz Luhrmann, Jumana Al-Rashed, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Red Sea Film Foundation, and Muhammad Al-Turki, Executive Director of the Red Sea Film Festival Foundation.
The ceremony, which was co-presented by Lebanese journalist Raya Abi Rashid and Saudi artist Ibrahim Al-Hajjaj, began with a quick review and showed clips of the most prominent films participating in the third session, which numbered 130 films from 77 countries in 47 languages, including 35 films in their world premiere, and 60 films. A film premiering in the Middle East and Africa.
This review was followed by the presentation of the Al-Yusr Award to the three honorees in this year’s session, namely the Saudi artist Abdullah Al-Sadhan, who received his honor from Mohammed Al-Turki, head of the festival, followed by honoring the German actress Diane Kruger, and the honor was presented to her by the German director Fatih Akin. As for the third and final honor at the ceremony The opening ceremony was attended by Indian film star Zanveer Singh, who was honored by star Sharon Stone.
Before the end of the ceremony, the Red Sea Feature Film Competition jury was presented, headed by international writer, producer and director Baz Luhrmann, and whose members include actress Amina Khalil, Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman, BAFTA Award-nominated actress Freida Pinto, and Spanish actress Paz Vega. The Red Sea Short Film Competition jury is headed by Saudi writer, director, and film critic Hanaa Al-Omair, French-Moroccan actor Asaad Bouab, and Turkish-German film director, screenwriter, and producer Fatih Akin.
The festival chose to open its program yesterday with the Saudi film “Hawjan”, directed by Yasser Al-Yasiri, and starring Nour Al-Khadra, Baraa Alam, Nayef Al-Dhafiri, Al-Anoud Saud, Mohsen Mansour, and Shaima Al-Tayeb. The film is adapted from the fantasy novel by the Saudi writer Ibrahim Abbas, and its story mixes elements of imagination drawn from it. From Arab folklore and contemporary topics, its events revolve around the story of a gentle genie who lives in the city of Jeddah. One day he discovers the truth about his royal lineage, and so begins the journey of Hawjan (Baraa Alam) to regain his legal right while fighting the forces of evil in order to maintain the balance between his world and the world of humans. During his adventure, he meets the young medical student Sawsan (Nour Al Khadra), and an unexpected romantic relationship develops between them.
