THE ENABLERS
Edouard Waintrop
Artistic Director | Red Sea Film Festival
Saudi Arabia
Antoine Khalife
Director of Arab Programme, RSFF
Saudi Arabia
Kaleem Aftab
Director of International Programme, RSFF
UK
Having being forced to postpone its inaugural edition because of the pandemic, the Red Sea Film Festival will finally take place in November 2021 in Jeddah Old Town, when it will be accompanied by a project market and pitching forum known as the Red Sea Souk. In the meantime, the organization has been busy serving as a year-round support mechanism for regional filmmakers. The organization has already announced a new $10 million fund for filmmakers from the Arab world and Africa, as part of a plan to provide more than 100 grants to help the development, production and post-production of movies and episodic content. In addition, money will be put towards the restoration of classic Arabic films including those of Egyptian director Khairy Beshara.