The recently revealed films have joined an additional 30 features selected for Red Sea's Special Screenings, Main Competition, focusing on Arab, African, and Asian cinema, as well as Arab Spectacular sidebars.
The Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF) has revealed the details of its Festival Favorites and Red Sea: Treasures strands for this year, featuring a lineup of the finest films from the past 12 months, coupled with classic cinema both old and new – with two restorations made in partnership with Egyptian Media Production City.
The film festival will take place from November 30 to December 9 in the port city of Jeddah.
The Festival Favorites programme showcases critical and commercial hits from award-winning filmmakers and actors such as Anna Kendrick, David Oyelowo, Ellen Burstyn, Ewan McGregor, Serena and Venus Williams, Jennifer Esposito, Laetitia Colombani, Asmae El Moudir, Sofia Alaoui, and Kamal Lazraq. The carefully curated selection of 21 films spans animation, documentary, and feature films, promising a diverse cinematic experience for Jeddah audiences.
Speaking about the selected films, Kaleem Aftab, Director of International Programming for the Red Sea International Film Festival, said: “This year’s selection of Festival Favorites exemplifies the Red Sea’s commitment to showcasing a diverse range of original talent that will challenge people’s expectations of filmmaking. These are powerful stories that stay with you long after the films have ended, and expertly make use of the medium of cinema to surprise, start conversations, and engage viewers. We have incredible female directors included in this line-up, both established names and new talent, and the selection overall highlights the changing landscape of cinema from the Arab world, Asia, and European countries as well as North and South America.”
In addition to contemporary titles, the Red Sea: Treasures strand will present seven classic films that have inspired generations of directors. The programme includes a partnership with Egyptian Media Production City to restore and screen two landmark classics, Victory of Youth and My Wife’s Goblin, featuring iconic stars from the Arab world. Other highlights in the Treasures strand include a new 4K version of Fatih Akin’s music documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul and Jacques Demy’s musical comedy Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. The lineup also features City of God, the epic crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, and two documentaries on Terry Gilliam’s journey to making The Man Who Killed Don Quixote— Lost in La Mancha (2002) and He Dreams of Giants (2019).
Antoine Khalife, Director of Arab Programmes and Film Classics, added: “We are delighted to be presenting a selection of cinematic masterpieces from all over the world in this year’s Treasures strand, from the meta-cinema of Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe’s two documentaries on Terry Gilliam; to our partnership with Egyptian Media Production City on two iconic Arab titles – which follows last year’s successful restoration and screening of Watch Out for ZouZou and Love in Karnak. Once again, we have unearthed some very special titles to present which celebrate many eras and genres in cinema, and we look forward to both welcoming existing fans of the titles and creating new ones.”
Tickets for all film screenings at the Red Sea International Film Festival will be available for purchase on the RedSeaIFF website starting Sunday, November 12, at 12 PM.
