The Middle East and North Africa region’s cinema star is rising across every aspect of the chain from production to exhibition to streaming.
Fresh energy has been injected into the sector by the arrival of Saudi Arabia on the scene following the lifting of its cinema ban in 2017 as part of its 2030 Vision diversifying the country’s economy away from oil.
Neighboring Qatar, one of the only stable major sources of funding for film in the region for more than a decade, also continues to play a vital role via the Doha Film Institute.
Its grants program, year-round training initiatives and springtime talent incubator Qumra have supported more than 750 short, features and series projects from 78 countries over the past decade.
The body was out in force at Cannes this year having supported films across Official Selection and the parallel sections, including Palme d’Or contenders About Dry Grasses, Club Zero...
Fresh energy has been injected into the sector by the arrival of Saudi Arabia on the scene following the lifting of its cinema ban in 2017 as part of its 2030 Vision diversifying the country’s economy away from oil.
Neighboring Qatar, one of the only stable major sources of funding for film in the region for more than a decade, also continues to play a vital role via the Doha Film Institute.
Its grants program, year-round training initiatives and springtime talent incubator Qumra have supported more than 750 short, features and series projects from 78 countries over the past decade.
The body was out in force at Cannes this year having supported films across Official Selection and the parallel sections, including Palme d’Or contenders About Dry Grasses, Club Zero...
- 5/31/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: New York Women in Film & Television (Nywift) and Jordan’s Royal Film Commission (Rfc) are teaming up on a training and mentorship scheme aimed at aspiring female filmmakers in the country.
The U.S. Embassy in Jordan funded initiative is bannered “Hakayaha: Stories of Women in Jordan” and will aim to fund, develop and produce serialized work in the form of docu-series and narrative series.
The initiative will include all aspects of creating serialized work from development and writing through to production and post-production. It will include filmmaker labs that will run for two years and 30 filmmakers from across Jordan will be selected to participate.
The participants will be mentored by a team of Nywift directors, producers and writers.
Nywift and Rfc Jordan are due to sign a Memorandum of Understanding: Joint Creative Guiding Principles at a special event in Cannes on Tuesday.
“New York Women in Film...
The U.S. Embassy in Jordan funded initiative is bannered “Hakayaha: Stories of Women in Jordan” and will aim to fund, develop and produce serialized work in the form of docu-series and narrative series.
The initiative will include all aspects of creating serialized work from development and writing through to production and post-production. It will include filmmaker labs that will run for two years and 30 filmmakers from across Jordan will be selected to participate.
The participants will be mentored by a team of Nywift directors, producers and writers.
Nywift and Rfc Jordan are due to sign a Memorandum of Understanding: Joint Creative Guiding Principles at a special event in Cannes on Tuesday.
“New York Women in Film...
- 5/23/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Four projects are by Qatari and Qatar-based filmmakers.
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has revealed the 29 projects receiving grants through its 2023 spring funding round, with titles including Cannes Competition entry Banel & Adama.
Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s film, which debuts tomorrow (Saturday 20) in the Lumiere Theatre, is one of seven titles receiving a post-production grant.
Scroll down for the full list of Dfi spring 2023 grants
The France-Senegal-Mali-Qatar co-production is set in a northern Senegalese village, where a young married couple’s love challenges the customs of the local community.
The first-ever Congolese Dfi awardee is among the selection: Nelson Makengo’s feature documentary Rising Up At Night,...
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has revealed the 29 projects receiving grants through its 2023 spring funding round, with titles including Cannes Competition entry Banel & Adama.
Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s film, which debuts tomorrow (Saturday 20) in the Lumiere Theatre, is one of seven titles receiving a post-production grant.
Scroll down for the full list of Dfi spring 2023 grants
The France-Senegal-Mali-Qatar co-production is set in a northern Senegalese village, where a young married couple’s love challenges the customs of the local community.
The first-ever Congolese Dfi awardee is among the selection: Nelson Makengo’s feature documentary Rising Up At Night,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Adam Bessa's career continues to impress with his latest film Harka - which is released in the UK tomorrow (May 5). The French-Tunisian star received critical plaudits for Sofia Djama's Algeria-set drama The Blessed and his multilingual skills saw him go on to reach wider audiences with Matthew Michael Carnahan's Mosul and Netflix's Extraction - the sequel to which will air later this year. In the past year, he's been garnering awards heat for his intense central performance in Lotfy Nathan's Harka, winning the Best Actor award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and at the Red Sea Film Festival.
He plays Ali, a Tunisian scraping by as part of the illegal gasoline trade whose dreams of escaping the country for a better life are scuppered after he finds himself trying to look after his...
He plays Ali, a Tunisian scraping by as part of the illegal gasoline trade whose dreams of escaping the country for a better life are scuppered after he finds himself trying to look after his...
- 5/4/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The second edition of the industry platform also includes a Work-In-Progress showcase.
Projects from US filmmaker Lotfy Nathan and Italian-Iraqi director Haider Rashid are among the 23 titles selected for the project market of the Red Sea Souk, the industry platform of the Red Sea International Film Festival.
The project market is split into two sections: 12 projects in the market alone, with a further 11 market projects that have been developed in the Red Sea Lodge throughout the year, in workshops in partnership with the TorinoFilmLab.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
All market projects will compete for three cash prizes,...
Projects from US filmmaker Lotfy Nathan and Italian-Iraqi director Haider Rashid are among the 23 titles selected for the project market of the Red Sea Souk, the industry platform of the Red Sea International Film Festival.
The project market is split into two sections: 12 projects in the market alone, with a further 11 market projects that have been developed in the Red Sea Lodge throughout the year, in workshops in partnership with the TorinoFilmLab.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
All market projects will compete for three cash prizes,...
- 10/27/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The second edition of the industry platform also includes a Work-In-Progress showcase.
Projects from US filmmaker Lofty Nathan and Italian-Iraqi director Haider Rashid are among the 23 titles selected for the project market of the Red Sea Souk, the industry platform of the Red Sea International Film Festival.
The project market is split into two sections: 12 projects in the market alone, with a further 11 market projects that have been developed in the Red Sea Lodge throughout the year, in workshops in partnership with the TorinoFilmLab.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
All market projects will compete for three cash prizes,...
Projects from US filmmaker Lofty Nathan and Italian-Iraqi director Haider Rashid are among the 23 titles selected for the project market of the Red Sea Souk, the industry platform of the Red Sea International Film Festival.
The project market is split into two sections: 12 projects in the market alone, with a further 11 market projects that have been developed in the Red Sea Lodge throughout the year, in workshops in partnership with the TorinoFilmLab.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
All market projects will compete for three cash prizes,...
- 10/27/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Algerian filmmakers have stepped up a campaign calling for their government to unlock promised state funds for cinema, warning that Algeria’s film industry is on its last legs following a near-year-long funding freeze.
Following on from a first open letter in June, the Collective of Algerian Cineastes has published a new letter addressed to Minister of Culture Soraya Mouloudji, re-demanding clarification on the government’s funding plans for cinema.
Algeria’s long-running Fdatic film fund was cancelled in December 2021 by Mouloudji’s predecessor Wafa Chaâlal.
The minister promised a replacement fund would soon be announced but nine months later no new scheme has been unveiled and successor Mouloudji has been equally unforthcoming.
A number of completed features approved for funding under Fdatic have yet to receive their monies, while a handful of...
Following on from a first open letter in June, the Collective of Algerian Cineastes has published a new letter addressed to Minister of Culture Soraya Mouloudji, re-demanding clarification on the government’s funding plans for cinema.
Algeria’s long-running Fdatic film fund was cancelled in December 2021 by Mouloudji’s predecessor Wafa Chaâlal.
The minister promised a replacement fund would soon be announced but nine months later no new scheme has been unveiled and successor Mouloudji has been equally unforthcoming.
A number of completed features approved for funding under Fdatic have yet to receive their monies, while a handful of...
- 9/16/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
All The Beauty And The Bloodshed In Competition(Jury: Julianne Moore, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo di Costanzo, Audrey Diwan, Leila Hatami, Kazuo Ishiguro, Rodrigo Sorogoyen)Golden Lion – All The Beauty And The Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) – Saint Omer (Alice Diop)Silver Lion (Best Director) – Luca Guadagnino (Bones & All)Coppa Volpi for Best Actress – Cate Blanchett (Tár)Coppa Volpi for Best Actor – Colin Farrell (The Banshees Of Inisherin)Best Screenplay – Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin)Special Jury Prize – No Bears (Jafar Panahi)Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress – Taylor Russell (Bones & All)Orizzonti(Jury: Isabel Coixet, Laura Bispuri, Antonio Campos, Sofia Djama, Edourad Waintrop)Orizzonti Award for Best Film – World War III (Houman Seyedi)Orizzonti Award for Best Director – Vera (Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel)Special Orizzonti Jury Prize – Bread And Salt (Damian Kocur)Orizzonti Award for Best Actress – Vera Gemma (Vera)Orizzonti Award for...
- 9/10/2022
- MUBI
The Unifrance cocktail event at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, held in partnership with Variety, saw a heady mix of film executives and artists mingle at the sea terrace of the plush Excelsior hotel.
Presiding over proceedings was Unifrance executive director Daniela Elstner and artists present included director Romain Gavras and actor Ouassini Embarek, whose film “Athena” is in the main competition at the festival. Also attending were actor Swann Arlaud, César winner for “Bloody Milk” and “By the Grace of God,” who is at Venice with his new film “Beating Sun,” by Philippe Petit, who was also present; and filmmaker Audrey Diwan, who won the Venice Golden Lion last year for “Happening” and is serving on the jury this year.
Jean-Paul Salomé and Bertrand Faivre, the director and producer respectively of Horizons strand selection “The Sitting Duck,” were also present as was “The Blessed” filmmaker Sofia Djama, who...
Presiding over proceedings was Unifrance executive director Daniela Elstner and artists present included director Romain Gavras and actor Ouassini Embarek, whose film “Athena” is in the main competition at the festival. Also attending were actor Swann Arlaud, César winner for “Bloody Milk” and “By the Grace of God,” who is at Venice with his new film “Beating Sun,” by Philippe Petit, who was also present; and filmmaker Audrey Diwan, who won the Venice Golden Lion last year for “Happening” and is serving on the jury this year.
Jean-Paul Salomé and Bertrand Faivre, the director and producer respectively of Horizons strand selection “The Sitting Duck,” were also present as was “The Blessed” filmmaker Sofia Djama, who...
- 9/5/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Michelangelo Frammartino was also named president of the Luigi de Laurentiis award.
Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet has been named president of the Horizons jury for the Venice Film Festival (August 31 - September 10).
Coixet’s credentials include My Life Without Me, The Secret Life Of Words and The Bookshop. Most recently her documentary The Yellow Ceiling was introduced at Cannes Marché 2022 slate.
Joining her on the jury is Italian director Laura Bispuri; US filmmaker Antonio Campos; Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama and former Cannes’ Directors Fortnight director Edouard Waintrop.
The Horizons section awards seven prizes in total in all major categories including a special jury prize.
Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet has been named president of the Horizons jury for the Venice Film Festival (August 31 - September 10).
Coixet’s credentials include My Life Without Me, The Secret Life Of Words and The Bookshop. Most recently her documentary The Yellow Ceiling was introduced at Cannes Marché 2022 slate.
Joining her on the jury is Italian director Laura Bispuri; US filmmaker Antonio Campos; Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama and former Cannes’ Directors Fortnight director Edouard Waintrop.
The Horizons section awards seven prizes in total in all major categories including a special jury prize.
- 7/20/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Spanish director Isabel Coixet will preside over the international jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti competition at the upcoming edition running from August 31 to September 10.
The director knows Orizzonti well having world premiered her 2005 drama The Secret Life Of Words in the section, ahead of it winning four Spanish Goya awards the following year.
More recent credits include The Bookshop, which also swept the Goyas in 2017, winning best director, film and adapted screenplay, and Spanish and English-language romantic drama It Snows In Benidorm, starring Timothy Spall.
She will be by Italian filmmaker Laura Bispuri, whose third film The Peacock’s Paradise played in Orizzonti last year, and US director Antonio Campus, whose recent credits include HBO show The Staircase.
Further members include Sofia Djama, the Algerian director of The Blessed, for which lead Lyna Khoudri won the Orizzonti Best Actress Award in 2017 and former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Delegate General Edouard Waintrop.
The director knows Orizzonti well having world premiered her 2005 drama The Secret Life Of Words in the section, ahead of it winning four Spanish Goya awards the following year.
More recent credits include The Bookshop, which also swept the Goyas in 2017, winning best director, film and adapted screenplay, and Spanish and English-language romantic drama It Snows In Benidorm, starring Timothy Spall.
She will be by Italian filmmaker Laura Bispuri, whose third film The Peacock’s Paradise played in Orizzonti last year, and US director Antonio Campus, whose recent credits include HBO show The Staircase.
Further members include Sofia Djama, the Algerian director of The Blessed, for which lead Lyna Khoudri won the Orizzonti Best Actress Award in 2017 and former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Delegate General Edouard Waintrop.
- 7/20/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Spanish director Isabel Coixet (The Bookshop, My Life Without Me) will head up the competition jury for the Orizzonti, or Horizons, section of this year’s Venice International Film festival, organizers unveiled on Wednesday.
The Secret Life of Words helmer will be joined by Italian director Laura Bispuri (Sworn Virgin, Daughter of Mine); American filmmaker Antonio Campos (The Staircase, The Devil All the Time); Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose feature debut, The Blessed, screened in Oizzonti last year, winning the best actress honor for star Lyna Khoudri; and French journalist and critic Edouard Waintrop, who most recently was artistic director at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight section.
The Orizzonti jury will present awards for best film, best director, a jury prize, best actor and actress, best screenplay and a best short film honor, picking from the titles selected for the Venice sidebar this year.
Venice...
Spanish director Isabel Coixet (The Bookshop, My Life Without Me) will head up the competition jury for the Orizzonti, or Horizons, section of this year’s Venice International Film festival, organizers unveiled on Wednesday.
The Secret Life of Words helmer will be joined by Italian director Laura Bispuri (Sworn Virgin, Daughter of Mine); American filmmaker Antonio Campos (The Staircase, The Devil All the Time); Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose feature debut, The Blessed, screened in Oizzonti last year, winning the best actress honor for star Lyna Khoudri; and French journalist and critic Edouard Waintrop, who most recently was artistic director at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight section.
The Orizzonti jury will present awards for best film, best director, a jury prize, best actor and actress, best screenplay and a best short film honor, picking from the titles selected for the Venice sidebar this year.
Venice...
- 7/20/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Spanish director Isabel Coixet, known for prizewinning works such as “The Secret Life of Words” and “The Bookshop,” will preside over the jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons (Orizonti) section dedicated to more cutting-edge works.
Coixet will be joined on the Horizons jury by Italian director Laura Bispuri; U.S. director and producer Antonio Campos, who most recently created, wrote and directed HBO Max series “The Staircase,” starring Colin Firth, Toni Collette and Juliette Binoche; Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose first feature “The Blessed” won the 2017 Horizons best actress award for Lyna Khoudri; and former Cannes Director’s Fortnight chief Edouard Waintrop.
Additionally, Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino, who was in Venice last year with “Il Buco,” will preside over the jury for the “Luigi de Laurentiis” award for best first work across all Venice sections, which is worth 100,000.
Joining Frammartino on the Venice jury for best first work...
Coixet will be joined on the Horizons jury by Italian director Laura Bispuri; U.S. director and producer Antonio Campos, who most recently created, wrote and directed HBO Max series “The Staircase,” starring Colin Firth, Toni Collette and Juliette Binoche; Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose first feature “The Blessed” won the 2017 Horizons best actress award for Lyna Khoudri; and former Cannes Director’s Fortnight chief Edouard Waintrop.
Additionally, Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino, who was in Venice last year with “Il Buco,” will preside over the jury for the “Luigi de Laurentiis” award for best first work across all Venice sections, which is worth 100,000.
Joining Frammartino on the Venice jury for best first work...
- 7/20/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Always nuggets of great info when the Cnc reveals what projects they are throwing their weight behind. Via Cineuropa we learn that Sofia Djama will embark on her sophomore project titles A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers and Teddy Lussi-Modeste will move onto his third feature film titled, Pas de vague. Jean-Christophe Meurisse and Olivier Meys complete the quartet of filmmakers who are setting up their next projects with Cnc coin.
Book writer turned filmmaker Sofia Djama saw her debut film Les bienheureux premiere at the 2017 Venice Film Festival (Lyna Khoudri won the Best Actress Award in the Orizzonti section).…...
Book writer turned filmmaker Sofia Djama saw her debut film Les bienheureux premiere at the 2017 Venice Film Festival (Lyna Khoudri won the Best Actress Award in the Orizzonti section).…...
- 7/11/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Directors and producers say “Algerian cinema is at risk of death” as a result.
Algerian filmmakers have banded together to issue a stark warning over the future of film in the country following the cancellation of a national fund.
More than 50 directors, producers, actors and writers have signed an open letter to Algerian minister of culture Malika Bendouda to “raise the alarm” over the scrapping of the National Fund for the Development of the Arts and Techniques of Cinema and the Promotion of the Arts and Literature (Fdatic), which was axed by the government last year.
A key question is...
Algerian filmmakers have banded together to issue a stark warning over the future of film in the country following the cancellation of a national fund.
More than 50 directors, producers, actors and writers have signed an open letter to Algerian minister of culture Malika Bendouda to “raise the alarm” over the scrapping of the National Fund for the Development of the Arts and Techniques of Cinema and the Promotion of the Arts and Literature (Fdatic), which was axed by the government last year.
A key question is...
- 6/6/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
A group of prominent Algerian film directors is sounding the alarm over the de-facto cancellation of the country’s national film fund, which they say puts Algerian cinema “at risk of death.”
In an open letter to Algerian culture minister Malika Bendouda, the North African country’s filmmakers are lamenting “no future for our films” after a government support scheme, called the National Fund for the Development of the Arts and Techniques of Cinema (Fdatic), was scrapped last year by the government.
The culture ministry has given Algeria’s film community vague assurances that this fund would be replaced by another support scheme, but that hasn’t yet materialized. Nor has the minister replied to several previous, less clamorous, requests for clarification about the future of what is considered a crucial driver for local filmmaking.
The open letter’s 18 signatories include Amin Sidi-Boumédiène, whose civil war drama “Abou Leila” was in Cannes in 2021; Kamir Aïnouz,...
In an open letter to Algerian culture minister Malika Bendouda, the North African country’s filmmakers are lamenting “no future for our films” after a government support scheme, called the National Fund for the Development of the Arts and Techniques of Cinema (Fdatic), was scrapped last year by the government.
The culture ministry has given Algeria’s film community vague assurances that this fund would be replaced by another support scheme, but that hasn’t yet materialized. Nor has the minister replied to several previous, less clamorous, requests for clarification about the future of what is considered a crucial driver for local filmmaking.
The open letter’s 18 signatories include Amin Sidi-Boumédiène, whose civil war drama “Abou Leila” was in Cannes in 2021; Kamir Aïnouz,...
- 6/1/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Red Sea International Film Festival’s selection of 12 projects from new and exciting voices from Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab region selected for the Red Sea Lodge, a mentoring program in collaboration with the Torino Film Lab, is a key part of the Festival’s drive to support and promote talent.
At the first edition of the Festival in December, The Red Sea Lodge 2021 winners The Zarqa Girl by Zaid Abuhamdan and The Photographer of Madina by Dalyah Bakheet each received a grant of US 100,000.
The Red Sea Lodge schedule is made up of 5 intensive labs designed to take a diversity of talent at the early stages of their career through the essentials of filmmaking to bring authentic stories to the screen.
The 8 month-program, designed to nurture and support emerging talent, will also improve access to Arab content and drive the potential of Arab talent on the international stage. The final workshop will take place during the second edition of the Festival which is scheduled to run from 1–10 December in Jeddah.
Of the 12 projects selected, 6 are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon. 50 of them are directed, produced, and written by women. As the Saudi Film industry continues to flourish and strives to become the Middle East’s film production hub, cinemas are reporting exponential growth and international productions are heading to shoot in the Kingdom this is an undoubtedly an opportune time for filmmakers breaking into the industry.
The selection committee features leading industry experts, including Savina Neirotti; Executive Director, TorinoFilmLab, Violeta Bava; Head of Studies, TorinoFilmLab, Jumana Zahid; Red Sea Lodge Manager, Shivani Pandya Malhotra; Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, Antoine Khalife; Director of the Arab Program, Red Sea International Film Festival, and Kaleem Aftab; Director of International Programming, Red Sea International Film Festival.
Also supporting the committee is Faiza Amba; Saudi Arabian film writer-director; Mohammad Sayed; Egyptian film critic and scriptwriter and Ziad Seaibi; Lebanese actor and lecturer at the Notre Dame University.
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, said: “Together with the Torino Film Lab we are thrilled to be unveiling the next 12 unique projects for The Red Sea Lodge. The feedback from past participants has been very encouraging and this year’s selection is an exciting slate of projects with bold cultural and social ambitions from a diverse selection of voices. The Red Sea Lodge is now building momentum and proving to be a vital support initiative which helps Arab talent to reach new heights in their film careers and ultimately amplify the impact of Saudi and Arab film around the world.”
The selected projects from Saudi Arabia are:
Seasons of Love & War — based on the novel ‘Divers of the Desert’ written by Amal Alfaran, Director/Screenplay Hana Alomair, Co-Writer/Producer Soha Samir.
A Last Argument Against Youth: Writer — Director Mohemmed Algbreen, producer Raghad Bajbaa.
The Crow Nest — Writer/Director Feras Almusharrei, Producer Razan Al Soghayer, Writer Taqwa Ali.
Al Qais — Writer/Director Lujain Hussain, Writer — Producer Abdulrahman Hakeem.
Tahweedah — Writer/Director Omar Al Omirat, Producer Asd Alkarimi.
Yajuj: Curse Of Iram — Director Fahmi Farahat, Producer Jomana Alquraish, Writer Murad Amayreh.
Projects from the wider Arab world:
The Settlement — Egypt — France; Writer/Director Mohamed Rashad, Producer Hala Lotfy.
A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers — Algeria — France; Writer/Director Sofia Djama, Producer Aurélie Turc.
Cain And Abel — Egypt — USA — France; Director Dina Amer, Producer Karim Amer, Writer Omar Mullick.
Dogmas — France — Algeria; Writer/Director Salah Issaad, Producer Taqiyeddine Issaad.
Bubblegum Brigades — Lebanon; Director Samah El Kadi, Producer Michelle Ayoub, Writer Rani Nasr.
Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore — Egypt; Writer/Director Morad Mostafa, Producer Sawsan Yusuf.
The second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 1–10, 2022.
At the first edition of the Festival in December, The Red Sea Lodge 2021 winners The Zarqa Girl by Zaid Abuhamdan and The Photographer of Madina by Dalyah Bakheet each received a grant of US 100,000.
The Red Sea Lodge schedule is made up of 5 intensive labs designed to take a diversity of talent at the early stages of their career through the essentials of filmmaking to bring authentic stories to the screen.
The 8 month-program, designed to nurture and support emerging talent, will also improve access to Arab content and drive the potential of Arab talent on the international stage. The final workshop will take place during the second edition of the Festival which is scheduled to run from 1–10 December in Jeddah.
Of the 12 projects selected, 6 are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon. 50 of them are directed, produced, and written by women. As the Saudi Film industry continues to flourish and strives to become the Middle East’s film production hub, cinemas are reporting exponential growth and international productions are heading to shoot in the Kingdom this is an undoubtedly an opportune time for filmmakers breaking into the industry.
The selection committee features leading industry experts, including Savina Neirotti; Executive Director, TorinoFilmLab, Violeta Bava; Head of Studies, TorinoFilmLab, Jumana Zahid; Red Sea Lodge Manager, Shivani Pandya Malhotra; Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, Antoine Khalife; Director of the Arab Program, Red Sea International Film Festival, and Kaleem Aftab; Director of International Programming, Red Sea International Film Festival.
Also supporting the committee is Faiza Amba; Saudi Arabian film writer-director; Mohammad Sayed; Egyptian film critic and scriptwriter and Ziad Seaibi; Lebanese actor and lecturer at the Notre Dame University.
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, said: “Together with the Torino Film Lab we are thrilled to be unveiling the next 12 unique projects for The Red Sea Lodge. The feedback from past participants has been very encouraging and this year’s selection is an exciting slate of projects with bold cultural and social ambitions from a diverse selection of voices. The Red Sea Lodge is now building momentum and proving to be a vital support initiative which helps Arab talent to reach new heights in their film careers and ultimately amplify the impact of Saudi and Arab film around the world.”
The selected projects from Saudi Arabia are:
Seasons of Love & War — based on the novel ‘Divers of the Desert’ written by Amal Alfaran, Director/Screenplay Hana Alomair, Co-Writer/Producer Soha Samir.
A Last Argument Against Youth: Writer — Director Mohemmed Algbreen, producer Raghad Bajbaa.
The Crow Nest — Writer/Director Feras Almusharrei, Producer Razan Al Soghayer, Writer Taqwa Ali.
Al Qais — Writer/Director Lujain Hussain, Writer — Producer Abdulrahman Hakeem.
Tahweedah — Writer/Director Omar Al Omirat, Producer Asd Alkarimi.
Yajuj: Curse Of Iram — Director Fahmi Farahat, Producer Jomana Alquraish, Writer Murad Amayreh.
Projects from the wider Arab world:
The Settlement — Egypt — France; Writer/Director Mohamed Rashad, Producer Hala Lotfy.
A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers — Algeria — France; Writer/Director Sofia Djama, Producer Aurélie Turc.
Cain And Abel — Egypt — USA — France; Director Dina Amer, Producer Karim Amer, Writer Omar Mullick.
Dogmas — France — Algeria; Writer/Director Salah Issaad, Producer Taqiyeddine Issaad.
Bubblegum Brigades — Lebanon; Director Samah El Kadi, Producer Michelle Ayoub, Writer Rani Nasr.
Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore — Egypt; Writer/Director Morad Mostafa, Producer Sawsan Yusuf.
The second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 1–10, 2022.
- 5/8/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
12 upcoming films from the Middle East and North Africa will be supported by project and talent incubator.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has unveiled the 12 projects selected for this year’s edition of its Red Sea Lodge project and talent development programme.
Of the 12 projects selected, six are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon, with 50% of the participants directed, produced, and written by women
The selection includes Saudi director and writer Hana Alomair’s feature directorial debut Seasons Of Love And War. The love triangle tale set in an...
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has unveiled the 12 projects selected for this year’s edition of its Red Sea Lodge project and talent development programme.
Of the 12 projects selected, six are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon, with 50% of the participants directed, produced, and written by women
The selection includes Saudi director and writer Hana Alomair’s feature directorial debut Seasons Of Love And War. The love triangle tale set in an...
- 3/15/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The El Gouna Film Festival’s project development platform showcased 20 projects in development and post-production.
Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama’s unwanted pregnancy drama A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers and Palestinian-us filmmaker Hind Shoufani’s feature documentary work They Planted Strange Trees have scooped the top prizes at the CineGouna Platform.
Running October 16-21, within the framework of the El Gouna Film Festival, the platform’s CineGouna Springboard component showcased 20 projects in development and post-production.
The jury comprised Lebanese producer and film critic Mohamed Soueid, Nina Lath Gupta, the former managing director of India’s National Film and Television Development...
Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama’s unwanted pregnancy drama A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers and Palestinian-us filmmaker Hind Shoufani’s feature documentary work They Planted Strange Trees have scooped the top prizes at the CineGouna Platform.
Running October 16-21, within the framework of the El Gouna Film Festival, the platform’s CineGouna Springboard component showcased 20 projects in development and post-production.
The jury comprised Lebanese producer and film critic Mohamed Soueid, Nina Lath Gupta, the former managing director of India’s National Film and Television Development...
- 10/25/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Yomna Khattab’s “Fifty Meters” (Egypt) was the big winner at the CineGouna Platform, the El Gouna Film Festival’s industry arm created to support and empower Egyptian and Arab filmmakers and help them find artistic and financial support.
This year, the CineGouna Platform disbursed awards worth $300,000 across 13 projects in development and seven films in post-production. The platform operates the SpringBoard and Bridge programs. The SpringBoard jury included Lebanese producer and film critic Mohamed Soueid, Nina Lath Gupta, former CEO of India’s National Film Development Corporation and Moroccan director and screenwriter Ismaël Ferroukhi.
“Fifty meters” won a $10,000 full film promotion package from The Cell Post Production, a $10,000 cash grant from Trend VFX, $10,000 from Synergy Films, $15,000 cash grant for script development from Mariam Naoum and Sard Writing Room, $5,000 worth of post-production services from Bee Media Productions, $10,000 from Cult, $1,000 for locations services from Clackett and a $7,000 master’s degree U.S.
This year, the CineGouna Platform disbursed awards worth $300,000 across 13 projects in development and seven films in post-production. The platform operates the SpringBoard and Bridge programs. The SpringBoard jury included Lebanese producer and film critic Mohamed Soueid, Nina Lath Gupta, former CEO of India’s National Film Development Corporation and Moroccan director and screenwriter Ismaël Ferroukhi.
“Fifty meters” won a $10,000 full film promotion package from The Cell Post Production, a $10,000 cash grant from Trend VFX, $10,000 from Synergy Films, $15,000 cash grant for script development from Mariam Naoum and Sard Writing Room, $5,000 worth of post-production services from Bee Media Productions, $10,000 from Cult, $1,000 for locations services from Clackett and a $7,000 master’s degree U.S.
- 10/22/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The fifth edition of project incubator event will showcase 20 projects in development and post-production.
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (October 14-22) has unveiled the selection of 20 projects in development and post-production from Arab filmmakers to be showcased at the fifth annual CineGouna Platform.
The platform will run from October 16-21.
The 13 projects in development include Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama’s second feature A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers, about a woman whose plans to deal with an unwanted pregnancy are derailed by other life events.
Djama’s debut film The Blessed made its world premiere in Venice’s Horizons...
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (October 14-22) has unveiled the selection of 20 projects in development and post-production from Arab filmmakers to be showcased at the fifth annual CineGouna Platform.
The platform will run from October 16-21.
The 13 projects in development include Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama’s second feature A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers, about a woman whose plans to deal with an unwanted pregnancy are derailed by other life events.
Djama’s debut film The Blessed made its world premiere in Venice’s Horizons...
- 9/17/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The 5050×2020 gender equality charter was launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018.
The Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) has become the first Arab film festival, and second African festival, to sign the 5050×2020 gender equality charter, launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018.
The signing of the pledge will take place during a gala screening of fantasy drama Scales, the debut feature of Saudi Arabian filmmaker Shahad Ameen which world premiered to acclaim in Venice Critic’s Week in September.
Produced by Imagenation Abu Dhabi and sold internationally by Agc International, the film will also participate in Ciff’s Horizons of...
The Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) has become the first Arab film festival, and second African festival, to sign the 5050×2020 gender equality charter, launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018.
The signing of the pledge will take place during a gala screening of fantasy drama Scales, the debut feature of Saudi Arabian filmmaker Shahad Ameen which world premiered to acclaim in Venice Critic’s Week in September.
Produced by Imagenation Abu Dhabi and sold internationally by Agc International, the film will also participate in Ciff’s Horizons of...
- 10/4/2019
- by 1100380¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The Middle East premiere of U.S. director Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” will open the revamped Cairo Film Festival, where Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” is also set to launch in the region and Ralph Fiennes will be feted with a career award.
Cairo’s upcoming 40th edition, which will run Nov. 20-29, bears the stamp of a big push by its new president, Egyptian producer Mohammed Hefzy, to give the oldest film fest in the region new luster following a period of decline partly due to the country’s post-revolution turbulence.
Hefzy and artistic director Youssef Cheriff Rizkallah have unveiled a large lineup mixing recent standout titles plucked from the international circuit with a rich assortment of fresh Arabic fare.
Kazakh writer-director Sergey Dvortsevoy and actress Samal Yeslyamova will be coming to Cairo for a gala screening of drama “Ayka,” which competed in Cannes; Argentine director will be making...
Cairo’s upcoming 40th edition, which will run Nov. 20-29, bears the stamp of a big push by its new president, Egyptian producer Mohammed Hefzy, to give the oldest film fest in the region new luster following a period of decline partly due to the country’s post-revolution turbulence.
Hefzy and artistic director Youssef Cheriff Rizkallah have unveiled a large lineup mixing recent standout titles plucked from the international circuit with a rich assortment of fresh Arabic fare.
Kazakh writer-director Sergey Dvortsevoy and actress Samal Yeslyamova will be coming to Cairo for a gala screening of drama “Ayka,” which competed in Cannes; Argentine director will be making...
- 10/30/2018
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The 44th Seattle International Film Festival announced its winners at the festival’s concluding ceremony Sunday, with Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade” taking home prizes for best film and best actress for star Elsie Fisher. Mister Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” which has drawn attention since the release of its nostalgic trailer, won the best documentary prize for director Morgan Neville.
See the full list of winners below.
Best Film
“Eighth Grade,” directed by Bo Burnham (USA 2018)
Best Documentary
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” directed by Morgan Neville (USA 2018)
Best Director
Gustav Möller, “The Guilty” (Denmark 2018)
Best Actor
Miguel Ángel Solá, “The Last Suit” (Argentina/Poland/Spain/France/Germany 2017)
Best Actress
Elsie Fisher, “Eighth Grade” (USA 2018)
Best Short Film
“Emergency,” directed by Carey Williams (USA 2017)
Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision
Presented by Women in Film – Seattle
Dana Nachman, “Pick of the Litter” (USA 2017)
Siff...
See the full list of winners below.
Best Film
“Eighth Grade,” directed by Bo Burnham (USA 2018)
Best Documentary
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” directed by Morgan Neville (USA 2018)
Best Director
Gustav Möller, “The Guilty” (Denmark 2018)
Best Actor
Miguel Ángel Solá, “The Last Suit” (Argentina/Poland/Spain/France/Germany 2017)
Best Actress
Elsie Fisher, “Eighth Grade” (USA 2018)
Best Short Film
“Emergency,” directed by Carey Williams (USA 2017)
Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision
Presented by Women in Film – Seattle
Dana Nachman, “Pick of the Litter” (USA 2017)
Siff...
- 6/10/2018
- by Erin Nyren
- Variety Film + TV
Festival launches international competition to be judged by audiences.
The Goteborg Film Festival (Jan 26-Feb 5) has unveiled its 2018 of 399 films from 78 countries.
Source: Goteborg Film Festival
Amateurs
Gabriela Pilcher’s Amateurs will open the festival and also compete for the lucrative Dragon Award for best Nordic film (full list of competition titles below).
Pilcher, who previously directed festival hit Eat Sleep Die, presents the world premiere of her second feature, which is about a small town in Sweden that hopes to revive its economic activity by bringing in a German discount supermarket. The supermarket brand asks local teenagers to make films about their hometown, but the films don’t turn out as expected.
The festival’s new prize, the Dragon Award for best international film, will be fought over by 20 international films that will be voted on by the festival audience for a $6,000 (Sek 50,000) prize.
Films competing are: Disobedience by Sebastián Lelio The Death of Stalin by [link=nm...
The Goteborg Film Festival (Jan 26-Feb 5) has unveiled its 2018 of 399 films from 78 countries.
Source: Goteborg Film Festival
Amateurs
Gabriela Pilcher’s Amateurs will open the festival and also compete for the lucrative Dragon Award for best Nordic film (full list of competition titles below).
Pilcher, who previously directed festival hit Eat Sleep Die, presents the world premiere of her second feature, which is about a small town in Sweden that hopes to revive its economic activity by bringing in a German discount supermarket. The supermarket brand asks local teenagers to make films about their hometown, but the films don’t turn out as expected.
The festival’s new prize, the Dragon Award for best international film, will be fought over by 20 international films that will be voted on by the festival audience for a $6,000 (Sek 50,000) prize.
Films competing are: Disobedience by Sebastián Lelio The Death of Stalin by [link=nm...
- 1/9/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The 2017 Venice Film Festival kicked off on August 30, and for anyone who can’t make it all the way to Italy this year, IndieWire has a solution for you. Between now and Thursday, September 7 at noon Et, IndieWire readers can register using this form to win one of 5 online festival passes, which will give you the opportunity to stream five Venice titles for free online. All of the streaming titles will be from this year’s Orizzonti competition (Horizons), Biennale College and a few other sections. The movies include the following titles:
Endangered Species, by Gilles Bourdos – Online on August 31
Under The Tree, by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson – Online on August 31
Strange Colours, by Alena Lodkina – Online on August 31
West Of Sunshine, by Jason Raftopoulos – Online on September 1
Martyr, by Mazen Khaled – Online on September 1
Nato A Casal Di Principe, by Bruno Oliviero – Online on September 1
Beautiful Things, by Giorgio Ferrero – Online on September 2
No Date,...
Endangered Species, by Gilles Bourdos – Online on August 31
Under The Tree, by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson – Online on August 31
Strange Colours, by Alena Lodkina – Online on August 31
West Of Sunshine, by Jason Raftopoulos – Online on September 1
Martyr, by Mazen Khaled – Online on September 1
Nato A Casal Di Principe, by Bruno Oliviero – Online on September 1
Beautiful Things, by Giorgio Ferrero – Online on September 2
No Date,...
- 8/31/2017
- by Jamie Righetti
- Indiewire
ZamaThe programme for the 2017 edition of the Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Darren Aronofsky, Lucrecia Martel, Frederick Wiseman, Alexander Payne, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Abdellatif Kechiche, Takeshi Kitano and many more.COMPETITIONmother! (Darren Aronofsky)First Reformed (Paul Schrader)Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton)The Leisure Seeker (Paolo Virzi)Una Famiglia (Sebastiano Riso)Ex Libris - The New York Public Library (Frederick Wiseman)Angels Wear White (Vivian Qu)The Whale (Andrea Pallaoro)Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)Foxtrot (Samuel Maoz)Ammore e malavita (Manetti Brothers)Jusqu'a la garde (Xavier Legrand)The Third Murder (Hirokazu Kore-eda)Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno (Abdellatif Kechiche)Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh)L'insulte (Ziad Doueiri)La Villa (Robert Guediguian)The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro)Suburbicon (George Clooney)Human Flow (Ai Weiwei)Downsizing (Alexander Payne)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesOur Souls at Night (Ritesh Batra)Il Signor Rotpeter (Antonietta de Lillo)Victoria...
- 7/27/2017
- MUBI
On the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival announcement earlier this week, Venice Film Festival have now delivered their full lineup and while there’s no Terrence Malick as rumored, there’s a plethora of highly-anticipated titles. Along with the previously-announced opener Downsizing and the expected Suburbicon, mother!, The Shape of Water, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, there’s Lucrecia Martel’s Zama, Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete, Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Color follow-up Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno, and Brawl In Cell Block 99, the latest film from Bone Tomahawk director S. Craig Zahler.
Also in the lineup is Errol Morris’s Netflix crime drama Wormwood, Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris – New York Public Library, Hirokazu Koreeda’s The Third Murder, Takeshi Kitano’s closing night film Outrage Coda, Michaël R. Roskam’s Racer and The Jailbird, the Kirsten Dunst-led Woodshock,...
Also in the lineup is Errol Morris’s Netflix crime drama Wormwood, Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris – New York Public Library, Hirokazu Koreeda’s The Third Murder, Takeshi Kitano’s closing night film Outrage Coda, Michaël R. Roskam’s Racer and The Jailbird, the Kirsten Dunst-led Woodshock,...
- 7/27/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Venice Announces 2017 Lineup, Including ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Suburbicon,’ ‘mother!,’ and Many More
Will 2017 be the year that Venice gets its king-making mojo back? After a steady run of debuting recent best picture winners — from “Spotlight” to “Birdman” — the festival missed out on last year’s big winner, “Moonlight,” which bowed at Telluride. This year’s lineup is a promising one, and while it’s still very early in the process, it’s difficult not to pick through today’s announcement of the festival’s slate and not search for the big contenders.
As was previously announced, the festival will open with Alexander Payne’s social satire “Downsizing,” starring Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig. The festival will also play home to the premiere of the Netflix original “Our Souls at Night,” as part of their planned tribute to stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Annette Bening will lead the competition jury, ending an 11-year succession of male jury chiefs.
Read MoreIndieWire Fall Film...
As was previously announced, the festival will open with Alexander Payne’s social satire “Downsizing,” starring Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig. The festival will also play home to the premiere of the Netflix original “Our Souls at Night,” as part of their planned tribute to stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Annette Bening will lead the competition jury, ending an 11-year succession of male jury chiefs.
Read MoreIndieWire Fall Film...
- 7/27/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Doha Film Institute unveils spring 2017 grants.
Palestinian film-maker Annemarie Jacir’s upcoming dark comedy Wajib and Tunisian director Mohamed Ben Attia’s [pictured] new film Weldi have won funding in the latest round of grants from the Doha Film Institute (Dfi).
Unveiling its spring 2017 grants round during Cannes, the Qatari institution said it had supported 29 projects from 16 countries, with 80% of the selected projects hailing from the Arab world.Dfi CEO Fatma Al Remaihi highlighted the fact that 19 out of the 29 projects were directed by female film-makers.
“This year’s grants projects are even more special for the large representation of women directors as well as themes that focus on coming-of-age stories of central female characters,” she said.
“Stories of hope, self-discovery, women empowerment, tales of family life and of life in conflict zones are highlighted in the selections this Spring,” she added
It has been a high-profile Cannes this year for the Dfi grants programme which backed Un Certain...
Palestinian film-maker Annemarie Jacir’s upcoming dark comedy Wajib and Tunisian director Mohamed Ben Attia’s [pictured] new film Weldi have won funding in the latest round of grants from the Doha Film Institute (Dfi).
Unveiling its spring 2017 grants round during Cannes, the Qatari institution said it had supported 29 projects from 16 countries, with 80% of the selected projects hailing from the Arab world.Dfi CEO Fatma Al Remaihi highlighted the fact that 19 out of the 29 projects were directed by female film-makers.
“This year’s grants projects are even more special for the large representation of women directors as well as themes that focus on coming-of-age stories of central female characters,” she said.
“Stories of hope, self-discovery, women empowerment, tales of family life and of life in conflict zones are highlighted in the selections this Spring,” she added
It has been a high-profile Cannes this year for the Dfi grants programme which backed Un Certain...
- 5/23/2017
- ScreenDaily
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