Saudi filmmakers, who have taken part in previous funding cycles, are also eligible to submit their short films for consideration for funds.
The Red Sea Film Foundation has announced that the second cycle of the Red Sea Fund dedicated to the development stage will open for submissions on April 6 and close on April 20, 2022.
The second cycle of the fund will enable filmmakers from Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Africa to secure access to crucial funding at the early stages of crafting an idea, exploring unique stories and script development.
The recently improved year-round fund, divided into four cycles, was designed to respond to the growing number of submissions and give uprising filmmakers the support they need to create and develop production-ready screenplays, bringing them one step closer to bringing their stories to the big screen.
The Red Sea Fund encourages bold and original ideas that embrace a diverse range of subjects that inform, educate and entertain global audiences.
Saudi filmmakers, who have taken part in previous funding cycles, are eligible to submit their short films for further funding consideration.
Last year, out of the 97 awarded projects, 37 films were from the development stage which further underlines the importance of this stage of the filmmaking process. 14 Red Sea Funded films from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco were presented at the Red Sea International Festival in December.
Speaking about the second cycle, Mohammed Al-Turki, Red Sea IFF’s Chairman of the committee said: “The development stage of the Red Sea Fund cycle is crucial for filmmakers with strong and exceptional stories to tell. Global streamers and studios are ramping up the volume of local content available on their platforms, the surge of Arab and African films continue to increase at international film festivals and there is investment from international and regional production companies to shoot in the region. This is an exciting time for filmmakers, however, we are fully aware of how challenging the process can be and we look forward to supporting a new diverse slate of projects, broaden recognition for filmmakers and support their journey from script to screen through the Red Sea Fund.”
