The event welcomes applications from Arab, Asian and African filmmakers to compete for the Yusr Awards.
The Red Sea International Film Festival has opened submissions for its first edition, which will now take place from November 11–20, 2021. Filmmakers are invited to submit films from May 18 until August 18, 2021.
Established names and emerging filmmakers from Arab, Asia and Africa are welcome to submit their films to the Red Sea: Competition and Red Sea: Shorts Competition. Saudi filmmakers can also apply to screen as part of the New Saudi/New Cinema and Tajreeb. Submissions will be viewed and selected by the Red Sea International Film Festival team alongside a further seven curated categories.
The inaugural edition of the festival will take place in the UNESCO world heritage site of Jeddah Old Town in the cosmopolitan city on the Red Sea Coast. The festival provides a vital new platform to strengthen creative connections between Saudi and the world with a programme of the best in global cinema, classic and contemporary Arab film, alongside professional and industry strands.
The 11 programme sections will feature contemporary international and Arab cinema, Saudi features, shorts and experimental films, retrospectives, and future-oriented AR and VR experiences.
Films in the competition category will vie for the Yusr Awards, chosen by an international jury, and the Red Sea Golden Yusr award for the Best Film in competition will receive $100,000.
Cash prizes will also be given for Best Director ($30,000), the Red Sea Silver Yusr jury prize ($20,000), the Golden Yusr for Best Short Film ($25,000), Audience Award, and Best Saudi flilm. Other prizes will be awarded for Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress and Cinematic Contribution.
Apart from the four open categories, there are seven curated sections, including International Spectacular, Arab Spectacular, Red Sea: Festival Favorites, Red Sea: Immersive Future, Red Sea: Treasures, Red Sea: Next Generation, and Red Sea: Episodic.
