Red Sea IFF celebrates Women's Stories at this year's Festival de Cannes

In celebration of female voices in film, the Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF) and Vanity Fair Europe hosted the Women’s Stories Gala event on Thursday evening, shining a light on the achievements of women both on and behind the camera who are helping shape the film industry and inspire a new generation of talent in Saudi Arabia, Africa, and India.

During the event held during the 76th Cannes Film Festival at the spectacular Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes, the RedSeaIFF and Vanity Fair Europe honored six women making significant strides, breaking down barriers and paving the way for future generations.

To Saudi cinema lovers, Fatima AlBanawi needs no introduction. She is the Saudi actor, director and writer who received international acclaim for her leading role in the 2016 Saudi rom-com Barakah Meets Barakah and broke cinema records with her latest AlHamour (2023). She has played an array of roles ranging from the road-trip thriller Route 10, the family drama Champions, the Egyptian psychological thriller 60 Minutes, the Egyptian horror Paranormal, and Saudi’s Covid inspired mini-series Al-Shak, which she co-wrote and directed. This year marks her feature directorial debut, with her screenplay Basma which received great acclaim in stages of development.

Also a Saudi talent to watch, for those in the know, is acclaimed actor Mila Al Zahrani who was cast in the lead of Haifaa Al-Mansour’s 2019 film The Perfect Candidate and will soon be seen alongside Jeremy Irons in Darren Lynn Bousman’s horror Cello which was shot in the Kingdom. Her career so far has spanned 16 TV series and 4 films. We caught up with Al Zahrani in Cannes so stay tuned for that exclusive interview here.

"Women are crucial contributors to cinema, and through the Red Sea Foundation we will continue to support and champion their voices which will help the industry thrive and evolve." -- Jomana Alrashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Foundation

Egyptian supermodel and actor Tara Emad is the first Arab model to appear as the face of Chanel, and most recently starred in the Arabic adaptation of US drama Suits – starring as the character played by Meghan Markle in the original version. She is also an activist and philanthropist, with a podcast and educational platform called 'Bullying Explained' which aims to provide insight and coping skills to listeners.

British-Lebanese actor Razane Jammal is the star of Netflix's first Arabic original series Paranormal; she joined the DC Universe in Netflix’s The Sandman and Marwan Hamed's star-studded film, Kira & El Gin, to date the highest-grossing film in the history of Egyptian cinema. Currently Jammal starring in MBC1 and Shahid's hit show, Al Thaman.‍

Jáde Osiberu is an award-winning Nigerian filmmaker, screenwriter, director, and producer and her titles include Isoken, Sugar Rush and Brotherhood. She is the founder and CEO of Greoh Studios and most recently directed, produced and co-wrote the gritty crime thriller, Gangs of Lagos, the first Nigerian original film set to stream exclusively on Amazon.

In addition, the six women have been interviewed as part of the 'Women’s Stories' podcast – a Vanity Fair Italia collaboration with Red Sea International Film Festival. The podcast is available to listen to here.

Jomana Alrashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Foundation said: “Although women are still underrepresented within the global film industry, it’s encouraging to see a record number of films directed by female filmmakers in the Official Competition in Cannes – and in fact that two of the six, Ramata Toulaye-Sy and Kaouther Ben Hania, are Red Sea supported. Women are crucial contributors to cinema, and through the Red Sea Foundation we will continue to support and champion their voices which will help the industry thrive and evolve.”

Mohammed Al Turki; CEO of the RedSeaIFF added: “I’m in awe of the women we are honoring this evening, they are at the forefront of cultural change and evolving the face of modern cinema. Our aim through our film funding and support programs is to help elevate the number of women behind the camera, bringing strong female-driven stories to the big screen. Testament to this goal is our involvement in Maïwenn’s sumptuous drama Jeanne du Barry – which opened this edition of the festival.”

For more information about the RedSeaIFF, check out their website.