Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’ To Close Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Fest As ‘Priscilla’ & ‘Origin’ Also Confirmed For 3rd Edition

Michael Mann’s high octane biopic Ferrari has been announced as the closing picture of Saudi Arabia’s third Red Sea International Film Festival, running November 30 to December 9 in the port city of Jeddah.

The movie, starring Adam Driver as legendary Italian motor-racing driver and entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari, alongside Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley as his wife and lover respectively, world premiered at Venice and has since played a raft of festivals.

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The closing night gala screening will mark the film’s MENA premiere, with Jeddah providing a fitting backdrop having hosted the first three editions of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on its waterfront Corniche Circuit since 2021.

Ferrari was among a raft of high-profile titles to receive the backing of the festival’s parent body the Red Sea Film Foundation earlier this year alongside Johnny Depp’s Modi and Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

“It is a great honor to announce that our Closing Night Gala will be one of this year’s most anticipated films, Ferrari by legendary director Michael Mann,” said Mohammed Al-Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation.

“This exhilarating film has been close to the festival’s ‘heart’, as it has been supported by our Red Sea International Film Financing; a vehicle for us to champion acclaimed storytellers and create the opportunity for cultural exchange.”

The festival has also unveiled the titles that will play in its International Spectacular strand, giving MENA premieres to high-profile titles from across the past year.

They span Sofia Coppola’s biopic Priscilla, Ava Duvernay’s drama Origin, John Woo’s Silent Night, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron and Sam Fell’s Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget.

The line-up also features Yann Mounir Demange’s Dammi with Riz Ahmed in the lead role, and Léa Domenach’s Bernadette (The President’s Wife), which sees Catherine Deneuve starring as French first lady Bernadette Chirac.

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