Red Sea International Film Festival

RSIFF: Winners Declared, the Festival over, or is it?

Red Sea International Film Festival was to be held from 29 November to 09 December. But when we got our invitations to the closing night, it was indicated as 07 December. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? But if you have attended other film festivals, like the Mumbai Film Festival (held by MAMI), you would not be surprised. Actually, it is a great idea. Announce the awards two days before the closing, so that the invited guests do not have to wait too long to know the results, and then hold shows of, mainly, award-winning films, which they might have missed, over the last two days. That is what RSIFF did too.

Gaining entry into the Gala Hall was not easy for me, though. Not getting enough exercise, because of so much sitting and watching, I used to walk from Crowne Plaza to Ritz Carlton, though luxury cars were always available to take me there. I did that on the awards night too. As I saw some people entering from Gate No. 1, I tried to enter too. I had with me an invitation card, a badge and an email, all confirming and reconfirming that I was a genuine invitee. But nothing could impress the security personnel at the gate. They just would not let me in. When asked why, they said, in order to enter the hall, I needed two stickers on my badge. What stickers? They showed me samples. But I had not been told about any such stickers. And if that was mandatory, where could I get them? This question remained unanswered. I was even told, in no uncertain terms, that I was trying to breach their security, and should move away. I asked for their supervisor. He came 15 minutes later, and repeated what his staff had said.

I asked the security to either call any of the main organisers, or my liaison lady, because I had no Wi-Fi there. They said nothing doing. I was rather upset. Finally, after about 35 minutes, their security manager came, and told me and a few others who were waiting to gain entry, that entry for delegates and guests was from another gate, and this gate was for staff only, who were given those stickers. We could comfortably enter from Gate No. 5. How nice would it have been if we had been told that when we arrived!

A lot had happened in between, not all of it desirable, but we finally learnt that all that was needed was for the security staff to tell us about this arrangement as soon as we arrived. Perhaps language was a problem. Anyway, Gate No. 5 was some 300 metres/a 10-minute walk away, and that is where I headed. Entry was easy. Because of the delay, I could not get a good seat. Wherever I found an empty seat, the person sitting next to it would say that it was being held for a friend or relative. Finally, after going around the hall several times, I found a seat, from where I witnessed the star-studded closing ceremony.

It was attended by ‘Honouree’ Nicolas Cage, Jason Statham, Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Adrien Brody, Dhafer L’Abidine, Henry Golding, Andrew Garfield, Yousra, Kaouther Ben Hania, Alia Bhatt (there is a picture below), Mahira Khan, Baloji and Saswan Badr, among others. In its third year, the festival this year celebrated its biggest year yet, in terms of attendance, with almost 6,000 accredited guests and selling more than 40,000 tickets, across all screenings, and the In Conversation sessions. Not many of the tickets came my way, but you can’t have them all, can you?

Jomana Al-Rashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “Over the past 8 days we have welcomed the world to Jeddah and celebrated this vibrant global film community together – with a goal of bridging cultures and creating new ties. We’ve done that with over 125 films from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Rwanda, Armenia, Malaysia, Pakistan, New Zealand, France, India, Thailand, and many more – as well as an industry programme in the Souk with 348 Project submissions, and 44 Works in Progress, from more than 26 countries. We are proud to have created a meeting place for ideas, business, and inspiration to carry us into the new year.”

Mohammed Al-Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “Closing this edition of the festival with the MENA première of Michael Mann’s turbo-charged biopic Ferrari, supported by the Red Sea International Film Fund, and honouring one of Hollywood’s greats – master of his craft, Nicolas Cage – alongside the hugely deserving winners of our Yusr Awards, means we end this edition on an absolute high.”

The Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea IFF) marked the closing of its third edition with a screening of Micheal Mann’s Ferrari, a Red Sea International Film Financing project, and revealed the winners of its highly anticipated Yusr Awards. The festival also welcomed Hollywood icon Nicolas Cage, receiving a Red Sea Honouree award, and joining the 2023 Honouree line-up of Diane Kruger, Ranveer Singh, and Abdullah Al-Sadhan. Kristoffer Borgli’s comedy horror Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage, will screen as the Final Festival Gala, on Saturday 9th December.

Two juries deliberated to finally select winners across 14 categories; led by Jury President Baz Luhrmann. Seventeen films in competition, as well as 23 shorts, were in the running for the coveted awards.

And the awards went to:

Asharq Documentary, Awarded for Best Documentary in Competition – a $10,000 prize

Winner: Kaouther Ben Hania for FOUR DAUGHTERS

Chopard Rising Talent Trophy

Winner: Nour Alkhadra

AlUla Audience Award: Saudi Film, With a $50,000 prize

Winner: NORAH / Saudi Arabia – Red Sea: Competition

Film AlUla Audience Award: Non-Saudi Film, With a $50,000 prize

Winner: HOPELESS / South Korea – Festival Favourites

Shorts

SILVER YUSR FOR BEST SHORT FILM

(Yusr, the Black Coral of the Red Sea, is a fascinating and enigmatic marine treasure that graces the depths of the vibrant underwater world. Endemic to the Red Sea, Yusr means “wealth”, in Arabic) stands out with its striking ebony hue, contrasting with the kaleidoscope of colors found in the coral reefs.

$12,500 prize

Winner: SUITCASE – Directed by Saman Hosseinpuor and Ako Zandkarimi

GOLDEN YUSR FOR BEST SHORT FILM: With $25,000 prize money

Winner: SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN – Directed by Dahlia Nemlich

Features

BEST CINEMATIC CONTRIBUTION

Winner: OMEN/Baloji

BEST ACTOR

Winner: Saleh Bakri/THE TEACHER (I was delighted).

BEST ACTRESS

Winner: Mouna Hawa/INSHALLAH A BOY (I endorse this fully)

BEST SCREENPLAY, With a $10,000 prize

Winner: SIX FEET OVER/Karim Bensalah and Jamal Belmahi

BEST DIRECTOR: With $10,000 prize money

Winner: Shokir Kholikov/SUNDAY (Well-deserved).

JURY PRIZE, With $10,000 prize money

Winner: Farah Nabulsi / THE TEACHER (On the money).

SILVER YUSR FOR BEST FEATURE FILM: With $30,000 prize money

Winner: DEAR JASSI / Tarsem Singh

Pavia Sidhu, Tarsem Singh and Yugam Sood

GOLDEN YUSR FOR BEST FEATURE FILM: With $100,000 prize money

Winner: IN FLAMES / Zarrar Khan (I had a hunch that this one might just make it).The Festival is supported by Principal Sponsors: MBC Group, NEOM, Vox Cinemas, and Strategic Sponsor, Film AlUla; Official Sponsors: Al Sagheer, Chopard, the Cultural Development Fund, Chery Pro, SRMG; and Support Sponsors, Bloomberg Media, Nova, and Telfaz 11.

I was there, somewhere.

And after a gala dinner, post ceremony, in the Festival’s spacious Garden, with laser lights and music, I was looking forward to the screenings, over the next two days.

-Siraj Syed