The selected titles are part of the New Saudi/New Cinema Shorts programme, which showcases up-and-coming Saudi filmmakers.
The Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF) has announced its first slate of shorts that will be showcased at the Festival’s inaugural edition.
The 15 announced titles are part of the ‘New Saudi/New Cinema Shorts Programme, which showcases up-and-coming Saudi filmmakers, displaying a careful curation of animated shorts, documentary shorts and fiction shorts.
Speaking about the selected films, Edouard Waintrop, Artistic Director of the RedSeaIFF said: “‘New Saudi/New Cinema’ is an opportunity for the RedSeaIFF to showcase the diverse aspects of Saudi society, celebrating the creativity, originality of emerging Saudi filmmakers. The Shorts programme in particular allows unique and diverse work to be displayed, and we’re looking forward to sharing these works with local and international audiences.”
Mohyee Qari, Programme Manager at the RedSeaIFF, added: “Within ‘New Saudi/New Cinema,’ audiences will be able to find stories told by ambitious, young enthusiastic directors who have the potential to take the Saudi cinema to the next level. Some stories will introduce viewers to the truth of modern-day local cultures, while others will take audiences back to the 1960s or to an imagined future of the 2090s. Common amongst all these fantastic chosen shorts is the chance for audiences to experience stories and life from a distinctly new Saudi perspective.”
The films include My Dear Fiction, directed by and starring Ahsan Minhas, Professional Scammer, directed by and starring Abdul Hameed Hassan Alam, The Window of Life is a short and personal documentary, by director Hayder Dawood, Hallucinated, directed by Mohammed Basalamah, Little Bird, directed by Khalid Fahad, The Palm Witch, directed by HalaAlhaid, Whisper Down The Lane, directed by Raghad Albarqi, Red Circle, directed by and starring Abdulaziz Sarhan, Panting, directed by Hassan Saeed, Covida the 19th, directed by Omar Al Omirat, Alrufea, directed by Abbas Alshuwayfie, The Jakar, directed by Abdulaziz Saleh, The Day I Lost Myself, directed by and starring Rami Alzayer, Acceptance Land, directed by Mansour Assad, and Hide and Seek, directed by Mohammad Helal.
The inaugural edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 6-15, 2021.
