.png)
Taking place December 7-8, 2022, Talent Days is a series of meetings, workshops and special events aimed at nurturing a new generation of filmmakers. It is an initiation into the cinema industry for aspiring filmmakers through inspiring talks and individual meetings to help the ideas in their heads take a more tangible form.
A mix of International and Saudi talents—directors as well as producers—will be invited to gather for two days. Motivational talks, tailored workshops and a special mentoring program will aim to strengthen their intuition and lead them to conceive their next projects.
A dedicated team from the cinema industry (producer, film festival director, sales agent, director, editor, etc.) will guide our talents for those two prolific and inspiring days. MIME's Managing Editor E. Nina Rothe will moderate a talk between filmmaker Ameen Nayfeh and producer May Odeh, whose collaboration in the 2020 film 200 Meters proved a winning combination. The talk is titled "How to build a creative relationship between a Producer and Filmmaker?" Other anticipated speakers include Emad Eskander who is the Head of the Red Sea Fund and Ryan Ashore, Head of Labs, Red Sea International Film Festival, as well as an insightful masterclass by French film scholar Alexandre Vuillaume-Tylski and one featuring Abdulrahman Khawj, Manager of Arabic Original Series at Neftlix titled "Dealmaking Scenes from the Storytelling Industry" presented in collaboration with Netflix. .
Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania will also be In Conversation with Antoine Khalifa, Director of Arabic Programs at Red Sea, on the morning on the 7th, kicking off the activities.
In addition, Talent Days will boast a special network of international industry key leaders, participating to spotlight the talents they will be working with in the future.
The program, helmed by Alice Kharoubi who is Talent Days Manager and Shorts Programmer for Red Sea IFF, will encourage filmmakers with a short film in competition to participate on panels, a workshop upon registration and one-on-ones with industry insiders. Talent Days is part of the Red Sea Souk, which is headed by Myrian Arab who is the program's lead Consultant and co-manager, along with Zain Zedan.
Concurrent with the Red Sea IFF is also Red Sea 360° which promises to gather Arab, African, Asian, European and North American speakers for a series of panels reflecting today’s entertainment industry. As part of the Red Sea International Film Festival’s commitment to fostering new filmmaking talent, the Networking Sessions will enhance connections and offer a dedicated journey, from script to screen.
The Red Sea 360° offers four days of thrilling talks on production, finance and innovation in the EntertainmentIndustry. Festival attendees can join up to thirteen sessions covering a variety of topics such as sales and distribution, co-productions, investment opportunities in the Arab region, incentives and tax rebates, funding into content, streaming, music, storytelling, episodic content, Metaverse and more.
During these talks, over 50 panelists from the global film industry will share their knowledge and expertise such as Wayne Borg (Neom), Lina Matta and Natasha Matos-Hemingway (MBC Group), Tony El Messih (Majid Al Futtaim - VOX Cinemas), Abduljalil Al Nasser (Saudi Film Commission), Charlene Deleon-Jones (Film Al-Ula), Michael Schaefer (New Regency), Vincent Maraval (Wild Bunch), Karim Safieddine and Maroun Najm (Cinemoz), Faisal Baltyuor (Cinewaves), David Grumbach (Bac Films), Gianluca Chakra (FrontRow Filmed Entertainment), Mohammed Hefzy (Film Clinic), Bader Al Zahrani (TwoAtoms), Rula Nasser (The Imaginarium Films), Rohit D’Silva (VIU), Clay Epstein (Film Mode Entertainment), Adhrucia Apana (Curiosity Entertainment), Academy Award Nominated Producer Donald Kushner, Producer Michael Uslan (of the Batman Franchise) and Germain Coly (Ministry of Culture of Senegal).
Other notable who will be joining the panels are entertainment executives from Lux Studio, Vine Alternative Investments, Elysian Film Group, Big World Cinema, Sørfond, the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, the Royal Film Commission, and more; in addition to Grammy-Award Winning Music Producer, Sergio George, Award-Winning composer Suad Bushnaq, and two exclusive masterclasses presented by Netflix.
The Red Sea 360° is co-organized and co-curated in association with Winston Baker, the leading producer of entertainment and finance conferences worldwide.
The Networking Sessions will take place across three days during the Red Sea Souk. As part of the RedSea International Film Festival’s commitment to fostering new filmmaking talent, the Networking Sessions will provide opportunities for new entrants and emerging filmmakers to connect and network with key industry players during informal yet organized 15-minute speed-meetings. Tailored to enhance connections betweenFestival/Souk attendees and industry professionals, the Networking Sessions will gather over 80 selective industry guests, spread in three sessions dedicated to three main stages in a film’s evolution: development, production and distribution.
