The second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF) held a stunning closing ceremony on the open air grounds of the Ritz Carlton, which was the festival's home this year. After a screening of the Saudi film Valley Road and a star studded red carpet, the winners of the Red Sea competition sections were announced. Valley Road is a film produced by Ithra and the work of award-winning Saudi writer and director Khaled Fahd, starring Hamad Farhan, Naif Khalaf, and Aseel Omran.
Celebrating the boldness and innovation in film, the Yusr awards presented the biggest prizes in the Region for both emerging and established voices across the formats of fiction, documentary, animation, and Virtual Reality. The awards were presented on Thursday evening at a glittering ceremony with attendance comprised of international talent from across the film industry, and hosted by presenters Raya Abirached and Mo Islam -- who also co-hosted the opening ceremony of the festival.
Shining a light on films from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, Asia, and Africa, the prestigious awards, now in its second edition, enables the Red Sea International Film Festival to highlight the reach and immense talent across the region and beyond. The awards were presented by an international jury of renowned filmmakers and industry heavyweights.
Academy Award-winning and internationally renowned actor and filmmaker Jackie Chan received the Golden Yusr Honorary Award in Jeddah, recognizing his unparalleled talents and contribution to the industry, paving the way as a legendary actor, director, producer, and stuntman. Jackie Chan is joined by Yousra, Shah Rukh Khan, and Guy Ritchie who received Yusr Honorary Awards at the opening ceremony of this year's festival.
Mohammed Al Turki; CEO of the RedSeaIFF added: “Over, the past week, we have come together to celebrate the film industry and the incredible talent we have both in the region and internationally. The second edition of the festival has been a huge success welcoming delegates from all over the world to this incredible city and we are delighted to close the festival by championing the work of both emerging and already-established filmmakers from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, Asia and Africa – congratulations to all the winners.
The full list of titles is below.
The Young Rising Star went to Sara Taibah, who was on E. Nina Rothe's Rising Saudi Talent list in Screen.
The Film AlUla Audience Award for Best Saudi Film went to How I Got There by Zeyad Alhusaini (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia)
Film AlUla Audience Award for Best Film Ajoomma by He Shuming (Singapore, South Korea)
The Silver Yusr for Red Sea Virtual Reality went to Eurydice by Celine Daemen (Netherlands)
The Gold Yusr for Red Sea Virtual Reality was given to From the Main Square by Pedro Harres (Germany)
The Red Sea: VR section was judged by London-based Egyptian documentary filmmaker May Abdalla, Bangladeshi artist Naima Karim and Tribeca Film Festival's Immersive Curator Ana Brzezińska.
The Silver Yusr for Short Competition went to Will My Parents Come to See Me by Muhamed Bashiir Harawe (Somalia, Austria, Germany)
The Gold Yusr for Short Competition went to On My Father's Grave by Jawahine Zentar (Morocco, France)
Do note that the Red Sea: Shorts Competition was judged by filmmaker Joana Hadjithomas (Memory Box), Saudi writer and director Shahad Ameen (Scales) and Nigerian actor Ozzy Agu (The Lost Okoroshi).
The Red Sea Competition Best Cinematic Achievement was given to DoP Duraid Munajim for his work on the film Hanging Gardens (Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia)
The Red Sea Competition Best Actor was won by Adam Bessa for his role in Harka (Tunisia, France, Saudi Arabia)
The Red Sea Competition Best Actress was won by filmmaker and actress Adila Bendimerad for her role in The Last Queen (Algeria, France, Saudi Arabia) -- check out an interview from the film's Venice premiere, with Bendimerad and her co-director husband Damien Ounouri.
The Red Sea Competition Best Screenplay went to A Childless Village (Sonsuz) by Reza Jamali (Iran)
The Red Sea Competition Jury Prize went to Within Sand by Mohammed Alatawi (Saudi Arabia) -- do check out the filmmaker's interview with Nina in Screen.
The Red Sea Competition Best Director was given to Lotfy Nathan for his film Harka (Tunisia, France, Saudi Arabia) -- check out Nina's interview with Nathan from Cannes.
And the top Competition prize of the evening, the Red Sea Competition Best Film, went to Hanging Gardens by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji (Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia).
The Red Sea Competition jury was headed by Jury President, Oliver Stone who was joined by Egyptian star Nelly Karim (The Blue Elephant), Oscar nominated filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin), acclaimed Georgian film director Levan Koguashvili (Blind Dates), and Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman (Paradise Now).
