The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) is not just film screenings and official competition. It is also an opportunity offered to enthusiasts of the seventh art to see their respective projects materialize thanks to the interest of financiers from all around the world who have agreed to meet in Jeddah for useful meetings scheduled from December 3 to 6, 2022.
"Increasing the international reach of Arab and African stories" is the main objective of the Red Sea Souk, a platform for "future collaborations" to move towards encounters with independent cinematographies from Europe and the United States. Ten first feature films and eight others by directors established in these two geographical areas and who are seen as embodying "strong artistic voices intended for the screen" will thus be presented.
The ten films that benefited from the support of the Red Sea Fund during the previous (and first) edition in 2021 were selected by prestigious festivals including those of Cannes, Venice and Locarno.
The connection between directors and financiers of the world through the Project Market paves the way for promising collaborations while providing information on the content of the various projects nourished by a new generation with a passionate and fresh outlook. "More than 560 meetings were organized and the Red Sea Souk hosted 3,115 film professionals and media representatives", during last year's edition, informs a press release from the Red Sea Festival dated October 27, 2022. This year "more than 350 distributors, producers, buyers, financiers, sales companies, festival representatives and commissioners", are in attendance according to the same press source.
Two separate Juries will distribute the Prizes offered by the Red Sea Fund: namely $35,000 for the development, $35,000 for the Special Mention Jury prize and $100,000 for the production. "All films selected in the work in progress showcase will compete for the $30,000 Red Sea Souk Post-Production Prize," the Saudi Arabian Festival said. There are also additional Prizes financed by the partners and sponsors of the Red Sea Souk and for which they are all eligible.
Also presented during this Red Sea Souk are eleven films from the Red Sea Lodge developed during the year 2022, during intensive workshops, in partnership with the Torino Film Lab. Two of them will receive annual production awards worth $100,000 each.
Among the films selected this year by the Red Sea Souk, we can retain, among others, "Behind the palm trees" by Meryem Benm'Barek (Morocco/France/Belgium); "Darwin in Taif" by Maha Al-Saati (Saudi Arabia/Canada); "I'm coming for you" by Cyrielle Raingou (Cameroon); "Vagabonds" by Amartei Armar (Ghana/France); "Where is the Healer?" of Tebogo Malebogo (South Africa/USA).
Bassirou NIANG
translated from French by
Thierno DIA
