The organizers of the Red Sea Film Festival, which starts next month in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, said that the offers of the foundation course include more than 100 films within the various competitions and programs.
The official competition includes 16 films, and the jury is chaired by American director Oliver Stone, who is the recipient of three Oscars. Saudi Arabia competed in the competition with two films (Ideal Candidate), directed by Haifa Al-Mansour, and (Shams Al-Maarif), directed by Fares Quds.
In the short films competition, 13 films compete while the classic shows program includes 15 films, the new Saudi cinema program 11 films, the global productions program 23 films, the experimental films program 17 films, and the interactive cinema program five of the virtual reality movies.
The festival director, director Mahmoud Sabbagh, said in a press conference yesterday: "We seek in this program to promote the values of diversity and difference, especially with regard to the inclusion of women and their representation in the public space, in our relentless pursuit towards more understanding and open societies."
The first session of the festival will be held from March 12 to 21, under the slogan (changing the scenario), and the total value of prizes awarded to the winning films amounts to $ 250,000. In addition to cinematic performances, the festival program includes a series of specialized seminars and lectures, presented by Arab and foreign experts, including the Egyptian directors Khairy Bechara and Yousry Nasrallah, the American director Spike Lee and the American screenwriter Apple Ferrara. The festival honors three cinematographers from France, Mexico and South Korea, as well as the late Saudi photographer and cinematographer Safouh Nomani.
• Saudi Arabia competed in the competition with the films "The Ideal Candidate" and "Shams Al Maaref".