Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival distributed over $900,000 in prizes at its Souk industry awards. The biggest award, the $75,00
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival distributed over $900,000 in prizes at its Souk industry awards.
The biggest award, the $75,000 Red Sea Souk Production Award, went to Katia Jarjoura’s Lebanon-France co-production Robbing Beirut. Produced by Michel Zana for Blue Train Films, the film follows a adolescent woman who becomes a bank robber in order to pay for her sister’s leukaemia treatment.
Scroll down for the full list of awards
Two further titles received prizes in the same section, for Projects in Development. Makbul Mubarak’s Watch It Burn took the $30,000 Red Sea Souk Development Award; with Aboozar Amini’s Tahmina receiving a $20,000 special mention.
In the Red Sea Labs, Mohamad Al’Omda’s Blue Card won the $70,000 Production Award for a Red Sea Lodge project. The Sudanese-Egyptian co-production follows a adolescent man who flees Khartoum for Cairo, where he embarks on a friendship with his roommate, an Egyptian street food vendor.
Written by Egyptian writer Paula Thabet, the film is produced by Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala, whose feature You Will Die At Twenty was Sudan’s first international feature Oscar entry in 2021. It was one of four prizes for the film, totalling $148,000 value across cash and in-kind prizes.
Further Red Sea Labs prizes went to Lydia Matata’s Kenyan drama Pepo Kali, winning $50,000; and Jawahine Zentar’s The Silent Ones, receiving $40,000 – both also Red Sea Labs Production Awards for a Red Sea Lodge project.
Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir received three prizes for her second feature Holy Cow (working title), after her debut The Mother Of All Lies won the Un Certain Regard directing prize at Cannes 2023.
Holy Cow took the $50,00 ART Award for an Arab Project in development or production, as well as an in-kind prize from Freshly Ground Stories and a $8,500 CNC prize from the Red Sea Souk Projects in Development jury.
El Moudir’s fresh film centres on a truck driver who causes a diplomatic crisis when two Brazilian cows escape from his transport in Morocco.
Successful Saudi projects at the Souk included Rulan Hasan’s psychological horror Close Rose Close, which took four prizes totalling $140,000 in value.
“This year’s Red Sea Souk winners reflect the incredible talent and creativity emerging from Saudi Arabia, Arab world, Africa, and Asia,” said Shivani Pandya Malhotra, managing director of the Red Sea Film Foundation. “These regions hold immense storytelling power, and through initiatives like the Souk, we’re proud to support these voices, offering them a platform to flourish.”
“This edition of the Souk Project market had a record number of meeting requests for the projects in selection which reflects the high calibre and potential of the teams taking part,” added Holly Daniel, director of the Red Sea Souk.
The Red Sea International Film Festival runs until Thursday, December 12.
Red Sea Souk 2024 winners
Arab Cinema Center
Saudi winner – Do Re Mimi, prod. Jawaher Alamri
Arab winner – It’s Okay, I’m Only Human, prod. Christelle Younes
Filmmore prize – Fuxi, dir. Qiu Jiongjiong
Freshly Ground Stories prizes – Holy Cow (working title), dir. Asmae El Moudir; Assa, A Fish In A Bowl, dir. Dahlia Nemlich
Impronta Films prize – Farouk, dir. Halkawt Mustafa
Oticons prize – Fuxi, dir. Qiu JiongJiong
Shift Studios
Promotion packages – I Didn’t Sign Up For This, dir. Lana Komsany; Do Re Mimi, dir. Fatima Albanawi
DCP package – Blue Card, dir. Mohamed Al’Omda
Titrafilm work-in-progress award – Allah Is Not Obliged, dir. Zaven Najjar
Arab Radio and Television Network
Saudi project award – I Didn’t Sign Up For This, dir. Lana Komsany
Arab project award – Holy Cow, dir. Asmae El Moudir
MAD Solutions award – Do Re Mimi, dir. Fatima Albanawi
MBC Academy/Shahid awards
Saudi project – Hadd, dir. Jamal Kutbi
Development/production/post-production awards – Close Rose Close, dir. Rulan Hasan; Blue Card, dir. Mohamed Al’Omda
Ambient Light awards
Project in development – It’s Okay, I’m Only Human, dirs. Karim Ghorayeh, George Peter Barbari
Post-production services – A Winner Is Seen At The Start, dir. Zhannat AlShanova
Rotana Studios awards
Arab film award – Close Rose Close, dir. Rulan Hasan
Arab projects award – Blue Card, dir. Mohamed Al’Omda; Close Rose Close, dir. Rulan Hasan
Saudi project award – Do Re Mimi, dir. Fatima Albanawi
Best Media Production award – It’s Okay, I’m Only Human, dir. Karim Ghorayeb, George Peter Barbari
CNC award – Holy Cow, dir. Asmae El Moudir
Ithra Saudi project award – Hadd, dir. Jamal Kutbi
Works in progress awards
Post-production special mention – Fuxi, dir. Qiu Jiongjiong
Post-production award – Guria, dir. Levan Koguashvili
Red Sea Labs awards
SeriesLab award: first winner – Cold Case One, wris. Nithin Lukose, Hari Kirishnan; second winner – Generation, wri. Mona Ombogo
SeriesLab award – Saria Othman Needs No Man, wri. Estephan Khattar
Red Sea Lodge project special mention – Close Rose Close, dir. Rulan Hasan
Red Sea Lodge project production award – The Silent Ones, dir. Jawahine Zentar
Red Sea Lodge project production award – Pepo Kali, dir. Lydia Matata
Red Sea Lodge project production award – Blue Card, dir. Mohamed Al’Omda
Red Sea Souk projects in development awards
Special mention – Tahmina, dir. Aboozar Amini
Development award – Watch It Burn, dir. Makbul Mubarak
Production award – Robbing Beirut, dir. Katia Jarjoura
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