THE RED SEA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS NEW PROGRAM STRAND
RED SEA: NEW VISION
The Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF) today announced Red Sea: New Vision, the program strand designed to provide a platform for projects that demonstrate a fresh cinematic vision, and have revealed the selection of films that will be screened at the upcoming second edition of the Festival.
A new program strand for the second edition, Red Sea: New Vision celebrates films that stand out, addressing unique topics with a lens that will challenge and delight. Eight films have been selected to run as part of the New Vision program, and span multiple regions and genres. The films that have been chosen share a common theme of pushing boundaries and tackling unique subjects from new and exciting angles.
Kaleem Aftab, Director of International Programming for the Red Sea International Film Festival, said: “One of our aims at the RedSeaIFF is to inspire the next generation of filmmaking through highlighting a huge variety of films that challenge the way we view cinema. Adding this new strand of programming to the second edition of the festival intends to do exactly that – lift up new voices and highlight fresh perspectives on filmmaking that encourage us to think differently”
Antoine Khalife, Director of Arab Programs & Film Classics for the RedSeaIFF, added: “It was a great surprise to us curating this selection of films, they are astonishing examples of filmmaking, present a surprising cinematographic language that deal with moving subjects which will most certainly have a strong impact on our audiences. From the explosion in Beirut, the change of urban planning, the impact of the meteors in Morocco or the entry into a fantastic world.”
After the End of the World is the latest feature documentary from Lebanese director Nadim Mishlawi. Suspended between a brutal past and an uncertain future, the city of Beirut lingers in a fragile and indefinite present tense. Reflecting on the aftermath of his father’s death, After the End of the World is the memoir of a filmmaker’s experiences in Beirut, a city haunted by loss. The film looks beyond Beirut’s political landscape, and focuses on the subtler notion of Beirut as an uncanny urban experiment. Contrasting ruins of the recent past with the influx of modernity, the film becomes a portrait of a city on the brink of perpetual disappearance.
From BAFTA award winning filmmaker, Mark Jenkin, comes Enys Men (which means Stone Island in the old Cornish language), set in 1973 on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast, a wildlife volunteer's daily observations of a rare flower turn into a metaphysical journey that forces her, as well as the viewer to question what is real and what is nightmare.
Many years in the making, Fragments from Heaven, is the second feature documentary from Moroccan filmmaker Adnane Baraka. Two men comb the Moroccan desert, famous for its recurring meteorite falls, for these stones that rain from heaven. Meteorites are valuable to them both, albeit for very different reasons. Mohamed is a tent-dwelling desert nomad living in harsh conditions, looking for a way to improve life for his family. Abderahman is a scientist for whom the meteorites are key to understanding the origins of the Earth and its life forms. Neither man imagines that his project will go far beyond merely looking for rocks, but this arid land has a transformative power of its own.
Award winning Canadian documentary maker Jacquelyn Mills is set to debut Geographies of Solitude in its MENA Premiere at the RedSeaIFF. An immersion into the rich landscapes of Sable Island and the life of Zoe Lucas, a naturalist and environmentalist who has lived over 40 years on this remote strip of sand. Lucas herself is a witty guide, her observations provide an essential bridge to our understanding of her work, but the film’s core subject is the poetry of this wonderful, windswept place.
Written, produced, and directed by Anders Emblem comes A Human Position. Set in the picturesque Norwegian town of Alesund, A Human Position centers on two young women, Live and Asta. Asta tries to find meaning and a sense of place in this quiet coastal town in Western Norway where she works as a journalist. As she attempts to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of an asylum seeker, her personal life and her views on justice become deeply impacted.
The Festival will screen famed animation director Vynom’s latest project, Khamsa – The Well of Oblivion. The story follows a young Adi, who wakes up, and finds himself at the bottom of a dark well and realises he cannot remember anything. The boy stumbles upon a gigantic underground temple, guarded by Tidar, the mistress of the place. Questioned by Tidar, Adi realizes that he has amnesia. Tidar tells him that his memories are kept imprisoned behind the Door of Oblivion. Adi is forced to cross the Door of Oblivion to recover his memories before it is too late.
Set to have its world premiere at RedSeaIFF, Lost Treasures of Arabia: The Ancient City of Dadan, a feature length documentary from directors Dirk Verheye and Inti Calfat. The documentary explores the ancient city of Dadan, which lies in Alula, North West Arabia on the famed Incense Road, mentioned in three bibles, yet little is known or understood about this region. The film follows a team of international archaeologists who will try to decipher its mysteries.
The second feature film from Lebanese director Karim Kassem, Octopus, tells the aftermath of the cataclysmic Port of Beirut explosion. The film silently navigates the unfolding of the catastrophe, giving space to the myriad of existential questions birthed by the enormity of what happened. Questions of unexamined worldviews, of suffering, meaning, of collective purpose, and of many other quiet thoughts strewn amidst the rubble.
About the Red Sea International Film Festival
The second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will bring the best in Arab and World Cinema to Jeddah, nestled on the eastern shore of the Red Sea. The Festival will showcase a compelling slate of new and diverse films, alongside a retrospective program celebrating the masters of cinema as well as introducing audiences to exciting new voices from the region and beyond. The Festival will provide a platform for Arab filmmakers and industry professionals from around the world to connect, host feature and short film competitions, and present a series of events, masterclasses, and workshops to support emerging talent.
Running alongside the Festival is the Red Sea Souk, the Festival’s industry market, designed for global exchange and partnerships between the international and Saudi film industries. The four-day market will offer a packed program of curated events to foster co-production, international distribution, and new business opportunities. The Souk offers unbeatable access to the new vibrant Saudi scene, as well as the best of the Arab market through pitching sessions, one-on-one meetings, screenings, industry talks, and networking events.
The Red Sea International Film Festival will take place from December 1 -10, 2022.