Red Sea Film Fest Unveils 26 Projects & Speakers In Industry-Focused Souk Market Program

Melanie Goodfellow
·4 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The Red Sea International Film Festival, has unveiled the 26 projects selected as part of its industry-focused Red Sea Souk Market, running from December 2 to 5.

Projects in development include Palestinian director Scandar Copti’s A Childhood, Lebanese-French filmmaker Danielle Arbid’s Love Conquers All and Madness And Honey Days by Iraq’s Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji.

More from Deadline

Within the Market selection are twelve Red Sea Lodge projects which were developed during the year through intensive workshops and in partnership with the Torino Film Lab. Four of these projects will be awarded the annual Red Sea Lodge production prizes of $50,000 each.

All 26 selected projects will compete for cash prizes offered by the Red Sea Fund, to be awarded by an international jury of producers: $35,000 for development, $25,000 for the Jury Special Mention Award and $100,000 for production

Another six projects will be showcased in Works-In-Progress section including Men In The Sun by Palestinian director Mahdi Fleifel, Red Path by Tunisia’s Lotfi Achour and Yunan by Kiev-Born, Germany director Ameer Fakher Eldin, who is of Syrian descent. (scroll down for the full list).

All selected films in the Work-in-Progress Showcase will compete for the Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award of $30,000 and the Special Jury Mention of $10.000.

“We are excited to host the Red Sea Souk as part of the Red Sea IFF for a third year and to showcase some of the most innovative, inspiring new talent from the Arab and African region,” said Red Sea Film Festival managing director Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director.

Alongside the project market and works-in-progress showcases, the Souk will also run its Red Sea 360° industry workshops, panels and sessions program focused on the future of the Arab, African and Asian film industries.

Confirmed speakers to date include former U.S. Marvel Television exec Karim Zreik, Jordanian writer and director Tima Al Shomali, South Korean producer Woo-Sik Seo, Saudi animation director Malek Nejer and Colombian producer Diego Ramírez Schrempp.

The Project Market jury comprises Saudi Producer Wael Abumansour (Telfaz 11), French producer Jean Bréhat (Tessalit Productions), Moroccan producer Lamia Chraibi (La Prod), Senegalese producer Oumar Sall (Cinekap) and Bosnian producer and director Jasmila Žbanić.

Judges for the Works-In-Progress are Venice Giornate degli Autori artistic director Gaia Furrer, Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu and Iraqi-Italian director Haider Rashid.

SELECTED PROJECTS:

The Red Sea Souk Project Market

  • A CHILDHOOD, by Scandar Copti                                                       
    Hybrid Creative Documentary-Animation
    Palestine, France

  • DJELIYA, MEMORY OF MANDING, by Boubacar Sangaré                  
    Creative Documentary
    Burkina Faso

  • LOVE CONQUERS ALL, by Danielle Arbid                                   
    Lebanon, France

  • MADNESS AND HONEY DAYS, by Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji               
    Iraq, Canada

  • MIRACLE IN CELL NO.7, by Dina Amer
    Lebanon, UAE

  • NOSTALGIA: A TALE IN FIRST CHAPTERS, by Ameer Fakher Eldin  
    Syria, Germany, Italy

  • SADNESS, by Emmanuela Lalanga 1st feature
    Central African Republic, France, Republic of Congo

  • SELFLESS, by Meriem Mesraoua  1st feature
    Algeria, France, Qatar

  • TANZANITE, by Kantarama Gahigiri  1st feature
    Rwanda, South Africa, Kenya, Switzerland

  • THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON, by Rani Massalha      
    Egypt, Tunisia, France

  • THE STRANGER, by Gaya Jiji                                                              
    Syria, France

  • THE TREASURE, by Abdellah Taïa
    Morocco

  • THREE DAYS 1/3, by Rakan Mayasi  1st feature
    Palestine, Lebanon, USA, Belgium

  • WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES, I SEE YOUR EYES, by Sameh Alaa 1st feature
    Egypt

The Red Sea Lodge Projects

  • AN ENDLESS NIGHT, by Mohamed Kassaby 1st feature
    Egypt

  • BLACK SNAKE, by Naishe Nyamubaya 1st feature
    Zimbabwe

  • BY HASNAA’S SIDE, by Amaal Youssif 1st feature
    Saudi Arabia

  • FANTASTIC TALE, by Vincho Nchogu  1st feature
    Nigeria

  • IN THE BEGINNING, IT IS THE END by Ghadeer Binabbas
    Saudi Arabia

  • MECCA, BERLIN, by Mujtaba Saeed & Ghiath Al Mhitawi 1st feature
    Saudi Arabia/ UAE/Germany

  • MY FATHER KILLED BOURGUIBA, by Fatma Riahi & Louai Haffar 2nd feature Documentary
    Tunis/Qatar

  • TEMPORARY LIVES, by Wessam Hachicho 1st feature
    France/Norway/Syria

  • THE GIRL AND THE MISSING BED, by Samer Battikhi 1st feature
    Jordan/Lebanon

  • THE MIDDLE ONE, by Sarah Almuneef 1st feature
    Saudi Arabia/France

  • THE NIGHT WHISPERER, by Lina Mahmoud  1st feature
    Saudi Arabia

  • THE SUN SEES EVERYTHING, by Wissam Tanios 2nd feature                            
    Lebanon

  • The Red Sea Souk Work-In-Progress Showcase

    ANIMALE, by Emma Benestan                                                           
    Algeria, France, Belgium

  • MEN IN THE SUN, by Mahdi Fleifel                
    Palestine, UK, Greece, The Netherlands, France, Germany

  • MY SEMBA, by Hugo Salvaterra   1st Feature
    Angola

  • RED PATH, by Lotfi Achour
    Tunisia, France, Belgium, Poland

  • RISING UP AT NIGHT, by Nelson Makengo 1st Feature, Creative Documentary
    Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso

  • YUNAN, by Ameer Fakher Eldin                                 
    Palestine, Germany, Canada, Italy, Jordan

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.