Latest in Red Sea Film Festival

Hrithik Roshan passed through Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Festival late last year to host one of the festival's popular 'In Conversation' sessions. Before Roshan arrived at the festival venue, extra security was drafted in as the audience queue spiraled two floors. When Roshan finally arrived, he was…

Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Fund has unveiled its latest round of feature film grantees from the Arab world and Africa. The announcement comes just days after the fund revealed it had boarded French director Maïwenn's upcoming costume drama Jeanne du Barry starring Johnny Depp, in its first European…

Dubai-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has acquired all MENA rights for the Saudi Arabian drama Within Sand, which was the Jury Prize winner at the second Red Sea International Film Festival earlier this month. Front Row will release the film theatrically in Saudi Arabia in the first…

"We have such interesting stories and such interesting lifestyles and societal problems and we are using movies to address them," said actor-producer Ini Edo when speaking at Deadline's Red Sea Studio about the kinds of stories that are bursting out of the Nollywood industry right now.  "Basically…

For Belgian directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, their latest feature Rebel has marked their most personal film to date. The Moroccan-born pair were at the Red Sea International Film Festival this week with the title and came into Deadline's Red Sea Studio with the film's stars Aboubakr Bensaihi…

Good afternoon Insiders, happy Harry and Meghan-week. Sigh. It’s been a long one but it’s Max Goldbart here cutting through the noise and bringing you the royalest news and analysis of the past seven days. ‘Hazza…

Iraqi writer-director Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji, whose film Hanging Gardens won the top prize at the Red Sea International Film Festival this week, drew upon his own experiences when writing the script for his debut feature film.  "The story comes from my personal experience and I was waiting for a…

Iraqi filmmaker Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji picked up the Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film and the Yusr Award for Best Cinematic Achievement at the Red International Sea Film Festival with his debut feature Hanging Gardens on Thursday evening. Co-written by Al Daradji with Margaret Glover, the film…

Saudi Arabia's Cultural Development Fund is poised to launch a new $233m ($879m Saudi Riyal) film industry financing program in the first quarter of 2023, which will be open to both local and international entities. The new fund joins a raft of initiatives introduced by the Saudi Arabian government…

Jackie Chan made a rare on-stage appearance at the Red Sea Film Festival Thursday, where he told fans that he is currently in talks to make a fourth Rush Hour movie. "We're talking about part 4 right now," he told the festival crowd, adding that he was going to meet with the film's director this…

Antonio Banderas's latest film, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, screened at the Red Sea Film Festival this week, and the actor told the festival audience that he believes his animated feline is likely to return to the big screen in a fifth Shrek movie. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is the fifth time…

As execs from the global film industry descended in Jeddah this week for the Red Sea International Film Festival, Film AlUla was one component that was drumming up interest in attracting local and international productions to come and shoot in the region.  The agency's exec director Charlene…