The industry platform, held alongside the Red Sea International Film Festival, concluded in Jeddah with 10 jury awards and multiple cash and in-kind prizes totalling roughly $700,000.
The Red Sea Souk has announced the winners of its Project Market during its awards ceremony, celebrating outstanding feature film and series projects selected from a lineup of 40 titles. The awards provide key financial and in-kind support across development, production and post-production, alongside dedicated backing for Lodge and SeriesLab participants.
This year, the Red Sea Fund supported 10 jury-selected awards, including two works-in-progress grants, six development awards and two series project awards. Additional partners from across the global film industry, including Arab Cinema Center, ART, Blue Bee Productions, CNC, DTS, Filmmore, Freshly Ground Stories & Fineprint, Habbar, Ithra, Leyth Production & Easy Distribution, MAD Solutions, Oticons and Shift Studios, contributed further cash prizes and professional services.
Among the major winners, DHEL secured multiple honours, including a supported spot at the International Film Festival Rotterdam Producers Lab 2026, a $50,000 ART production grant and a DTS sound post-production award. A Noble Departure also earned significant recognition, receiving an ART grant as well as a promotional package from Shift Studios.
Other projects awarded include Playhouse by Maha Haj, which received both a $50,000 ART grant and the top $80,000 Red Sea Souk Production Award; Positive by Hanaa Saleh Alfassi, which won the Blue Bee Productions cash prize and a Shift Studios DCP package; and Green Corpse by Khalid Zidan, honoured with a $10,000 Habbar cash prize, $40,000 in marketing services and an additional SAR 50,000 award from Ithra.
In the works-in-progress category, Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep by Rakan Mayasi earned a Special Mention with a $15,000 grant, while Ben’imana by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo received the $40,000 Post-Production Award.
Series projects were recognised with two $10,000 Souk Series Awards, presented to Money Town by Tony Koros and Side Effects by Hind Metwalli.
Across the development categories, winners included To Catch a Falling Sky by Cheta Chukwu (Special Mention), Cold Ashes Can Cause Forest Fires by Ashmita Guha Neogi (Breakthrough Award), Price of Evil by Ibrahim Mursal and About Love and September Laws by Mohamed Kordofani, both securing $25,000 development grants.
The awards highlight the Red Sea Souk’s continued commitment to supporting filmmakers across the Arab world, Africa and Asia, providing vital resources to help bring new cinematic voices to the screen.
Speaking about the winners, Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “The Souk has been a growing force in the global film market with almost double the attendance from 2024, welcoming 166 exhibitors across 90 stands for this year’s edition. We’re proud to highlight the best of the new wave of projects emerging from both debut and established creators, and know that the support our awards provide will be invaluable to the talented filmmakers we’re privileged to be championing.”
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of Red Sea Film Foundation, added: “Each year we are amazed by the talent and storytelling on display in our Souk Project Market – and this year’s winners highlight some of the most exciting and innovative voices from the Arab World, Africa and Asia that are defining the future of cinema in these regions. We have seen projects that have won Souk Awards go on to dazzle audiences around the world, are proud to be offering support from across our ecosystem to help bring these incredible stories to life. A huge congratulations to tonight’s winners and nominees!”
Director of Red Sea Souk Holly Daniel, commented: “The Souk’s Project Market is a vital part of our industry strand that champions the next generation of storytellers, and we have seen projects with incredible potential in our Awards this evening. It’s testament to the importance of supporting these filmmakers that in this fifth edition of the festival, we’re seeing projects like Zain Duraie’s Sink and Cyril Aris’s A Sad And Beautiful World that were supported by the Souk now competing in our main Features Competition. Along with our Award partners, we are thrilled to be celebrating these talented filmmakers as we conclude this edition of our thriving programme.”
