Saudi Arabia's Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) announced on Monday that 14 new Arabic cinema projects have won the support of the Red Sea Fund for production and post-production for this season.
The fund is aimed at providing the financial support needed to turn cinema projects into serious productions that impress fans around the world.
The list of announced projects includes movies and documentaries from 10 Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco; in addition to four works from non-Arab countries: Sweden, the United States, France, and Germany.
Two of the winning movies have partaken in international festivals: "The Sea Ahead" by Director Ely Dagher won Cannes' Palme D'Or for best short film, and was nominated for an Oscar; and "Farha" by Director Darin Sallam, set to be screened this month at the Toronto International Film Festival.
"Arab cinema embraces endless creative talents that offer new stories inspired by the Arabic culture and heritage. This is why we have to keep supporting Arab directors all over the year, and provide them with the financial support and capacities they need to reach the audience," said RSIFF artistic director Edouard Waintrop, hailing the presence of Arabic cinema on the global level.
"It's wonderful to see such incredible Arab films in the selection at Venice and other international festivals this year. I have no doubt we will witness a surge of films claiming the international spotlight in the coming years," he added.
The inaugural edition of the RSIFF is scheduled to run from December 6 to 15.
