1 week Ago By Georg Szalai
Honors for and on-stage appearances by and Egyptian star Mona Zaki ( , , , ), ‘s new movie as a director, and a biopic about Robbie Williams will be part of this year’s (RSIFF) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, organizers said on Monday. They also unveiled the competition lineup for the fest’s fourth edition. Organizers said that the overall lineup features 49 world and premieres, also highlighting that six female filmmakers will be featured in the competition program.
Among the 15 competition titles announced are Reema Kagti’s , which bowed at the , and , which had its world premiere at the where it won the . The RSIFF on Monday also added several galas to its lineup, plus unveiled its program. The opening night gala screening will be Karim Shenawi’s .
It tells “the story of an 11-year-old Nubian albino with a beautiful voice who faces adversity due to his unique appearance,” according to a synopsis. “Abandoned by his father and bullied by his peers, he dreams of following in the footsteps of his idol, singer and actor Mohamed Mounir. When he gets a chance to audition for , Daye and his family embark on a perilous journey from Aswan to Cairo.
” Meanwhile, will receive an awards night gala screening in Jeddah, and the from director Michael Gracey will be featured as the closing night gala screening. picked 12 movies for its Festival Favorites selection of standouts from the fest circuit, including , an about two women who form an unlikely alliance directed by Sandhya Suri, and Chinese auteur , which won the at Cannes. “Our foundation has long been dedicated to championing the female voice in film, so it feels especially meaningful that our first two honorees this year are two legendary women in cinema: Mona Zaki and Viola Davis,” said Jomana Al Rashid, chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation.
“Both are not only immensely talented artists but also passionate advocates beyond their craft.” The actresses will both discuss their careers in the fest’s “In Conversation” strand. “I am deeply honored to be recognized alongside such phenomenal talent,” said Davis.
“As a producer who is personally passionate about championing diverse narratives, I’m excited to collaborate with Red Sea to reach new audiences, and create a global platform for meaningful cultural exchange.” Said Zaki: “I have closely followed and admired the many cultural achievements, particularly in cinematography, that have emerged in Saudi Arabia and through the Red Sea Film Festival. I look forward to the festival and to celebrate the magic of filmmaking with everyone from across the world.
” Check out the RSIFF 2024 competition lineup and families & children program below. (Reema Kagti) (Denise Fernandes) (Mahdi Fleifel) (Kurdwin Ayub) (Oday Rasheed) (Lotfi Achour) (Taghrid Abouelhassan) Bin U Bin, Border Elsewhere (Mohamed Lakhdar Tati) (Wael Abumansour) (Mehdi M. Barsaoui) (Khaled Mansour) (Roya Sadat) (Mehran Modiri) (Xiaoxuan Jiang) (Maksud Hossain) Ricardo Curtis, Rodrigo Perez-Castro “All the animals at friendly Colepepper Zoo are turning into zombies, thanks to a viral attack; the few survivors, led by young wolf Gracie, must find a cure before the virus infects the whole world.
” Richard Claus, Karsten Kiilerich “When his dragon friend is kidnapped as a gift for an African lion king, adventurous Panda Ping makes his way across seas, deserts and jungles to rescue him.” Tamer Mahdy “A bout of chickenpox becomes the unlikely catalyst for a series of adventures for young orphan Sukkar and her friends in this Arabic musical.” THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The Hollywood Reporter.
