The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) today announced the winners of the Red Sea Souk Awards that featured four days of industry talks, workshops, an active project market and networking sessions. All films in the Red Sea Souk were deliberated on by two separate juries for the Project Market and the Works-in-Progress to grant the Red Sea Souk Awards. More than 700,000 USD were awarded to the projects selected in the Red Sea Souk Awards with funds provided by the Red Sea Fund as well as generous industry sponsors.
Zain Zedan, Red Sea Souk Manager, said: “Today we presented the Souk awards to an exceptional selection of new and established voices in filmmaking, including numerous women powerhouses. We are so proud of the creativity and talent displayed today and we would like to congratulate them on their momentous achievements, we can’t wait to see what more they accomplish in elevating the Saudi film industry.”
From the Red Sea Fund, five cash awards were granted by the Red Sea Souk Jury. The Red Sea Souk Award with a grant of 30,000 USD was presented to ‘Contra’ by Lotfy Nathan for their film in post-production. The remaining four awards supported by the Red Sea Fund Award included a Red Sea Souk Award with a grant of 25,000 USD that was presented to the winner ‘Akashinga’ by Naishe Hassan Nyamubaya for their film in development and a Red Sea Souk Award with a grant of 100,000 USD that was presented to the winner ‘AÏCHA’ by Mehdi M. Barsaoui for their film in production. Furthermore, the two Red Sea Lodge Awards each with a grant of 100,000 USD were awarded to the winners ‘The Zarqa Girl’ by Zaid Abuhamdan and ‘The Photographer of Madina’ by Dalyah Bakheet. There was an additional Red Sea Souk Award, the Special Mention Award with a grant of 15,000 USD awarded to ‘Birthday’ by Lara Zeidan.
From the sponsors, the Cell Studios, a fully integrated postproduction facility, presented three awards to a film in post-production. The first award consisting of a full DCP package worth 10,000 USD was awarded to ‘The Cemetery of Cinema’ by Thierno Souleymane Diallo. The second award consisting of a full promotion package worth 10,000 USD was awarded to ‘Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous’ by Wissam Charaf.
Finally, the third award consisting of a full colour grading package worth 15,000 USD was presented to ‘Fragments from Heaven’ by Adnane Baraka.
Leyth Production, a Tunisian-based film production company, presented the Leyth Production Award consisting of Sound Mixing by S.G., sound designer, in Auditorium 7.1 equivalent to 15,000 USD to the winner ‘Abdelinho’ by Hicham Ayouch to their film in post-production. Meanwhile, Arab Cinema Center (ACC), an international promotional platform for Arab cinema, presented the Arab Cinema Centre Award with participation in the 2022 Rotterdam Lab to the Saudi winner ‘Zeba’ by Arar Qarim, and ‘Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo’ by Khaled Mansour.
MAD Solutions, the first Pan-Arab creative studio dedicated to the creation, promotion , and distribution of Arabic content to and from the Arab world, presented the Mad Solutions Distribution Award in the amount of 50,000 USD to the winner ‘The Seasons of Jannet’ by Mehdi Hmili. Whereas Cinewaves
Films, a leading Saudi distribution company with the largest Saudi film library, presented the Cinewaves Film Distribution Award in the amount of 50,000 USD to the winner ‘Zeba’ by Abrar Qari.
The Arab Radio and Television Network (ART), one of the major players in the Arab Film Industry, presented two awards. The first award is the winner of the Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) Distribution Award in the amount of 50,000 USD, ‘MONTREAL’ by Ameen Nayfeh. The second winner of the Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) Distribution Award in the amount of 50,000 USD was ‘Within Sand’ by Mo Alatawi. Lastly, the final Souk Award was the winner of the Shahid Distribution Award in the amount of 100,000 USD, ‘Hala’s Aziz’ by Jawaher Alamri.
About MBC GROUP:
MBC GROUP is the largest and leading media company in the Middle East & North Africa region that enriches people’s lives through information, interaction and entertainment. In 2002, nearly a decade after the launch of MBC1 in London, in 1991, MBC GROUP moved its headquarters to Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates.
Today, MBC GROUP includes over 17 leading TV channels: MBC1 (general family entertainment); MBC2 & MBC MAX (24-hour western movies); MBC3 (children’s edutainment with a mix of both local productions and western acquisitions); MBC4 (entertainment for young families with a female-focus); MBC ACTION (an indigenous adrenaline-packed channel targeting young males with local and homegrown productions); MBC VARIETY (Western films and general entertainment with uninterrupted broadcasting); MBC DRAMA (24/7 Arabic drama) & MBC+ DRAMA (a joint pay-TV channel between MBC and OSN); MBC PERSIA (general family entertainment dubbed and subtitled in Farsi); WANASAH (24-hour Arabic music channel); MBC MASR & MBC MASR2 (general family entertainment geared towards the Egyptian family); MBC BOLLYWOOD (delivering the freshest in Bollywood content geared towards the region via an Arabized interface); MBC USA (on “Dish Network” in the US); MBC IRAQ (a premium channel aimed at the entire Iraqi family), MBC5 (new satellite channel dedicated to the Maghreb); all of them benefit from MBC STUDIOS which produces the region’s most compelling premium content for cinema, television and on-demand platforms. MBC GROUP also includes two FM radio stations: MBC FM (Gulf music) and Panorama FM (contemporary Arabic hit music).
Furthermore, part of MBC GROUP is Shahid and its premium subscription-based service Shahid VIP, the world’s leading Arabic streaming platform, home to highly rated original productions from the Arab world, a wide range of exclusive movies and premieres, as well as the top watched live Arab TV channels.
About Majid Al Futtaim
Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim is the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
A remarkable business success story, Majid Al Futtaim started from one man’s vision to transform the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure to ‘create great moments for everyone, every day’. It has since grown into one of the United Arab Emirates’ most respected and successful businesses spanning 17 international markets, employing more than 43,000 people, and obtaining the highest credit rating (BBB) among privately-held corporates in the region.
Majid Al Futtaim owns and operates 29 shopping malls, 13 hotels and four mixed-use communities, with further developments underway in the region. The shopping malls portfolio includes Mall of the Emirates, Mall of Egypt, Mall of Oman, City Centre malls, My City Centre neighbourhood centres, and five community malls which are in joint venture with the Government of Sharjah. The Company is the exclusive franchisee for Carrefour in over 30 markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, operating a portfolio of more than 375 outlets including City+, the region’s first checkout-free store, and an online store.
Majid Al Futtaim operates more than 600 VOX Cinemas screens as well as a portfolio of world-class leisure and entertainment experiences across the region including Ski Dubai, Ski Egypt, Dreamscape, Magic Planet, Little Explorers and iFLY Dubai. The Company is parent to a Fashion, Home and Specialty retail business representing international brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, AllSaints, lululemon athletica, Crate & Barrel, Maisons du Monde, LEGO and THAT, a Majid Al Futtaim fashion concept store and app. In addition, Majid Al Futtaim operates Enova, a facility and energy management company, through a joint venture operation with Veolia, a global leader in optimised environment resource management.
www.majidalfuttaim.com
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