JEDDAH — The Red Sea International Film Festival has announced cash prizes totaling $350,000 to be awarded at the inaugural Festival taking place here from March 12–21, 2020.

In addition, there will be $250,000 in cash prizes for films In Competition and $100,000 as part of the Bait Al Montage post-production fund.

The competition cash prizes reward cinematic excellence from around the world, emphasizing innovation and daring expression. The International Competition runs across six categories with winners chosen by a jury comprising eminent international film figures.

The Golden Yusr Trophy for Best Feature carries a $100,000 cash prize and the Silver Yusr Trophy for Best Director is presented with $50,000 in the International Competition.

A Silver Yusr Trophy will also be awarded for Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Cinematic Contribution.

An additional Golden Yusr Trophy awarded for Best Short Film carries a $50,000 finance award for a future project plus a 3-month creative residency in Old Town, Jeddah.

The Best Short Film prize is part of the Red Sea Shorts Competition, featuring the most exciting contemporary voices from the Arab world, including student directors, first-time filmmakers, and contemporary Arab artists from diverse disciplines.

There will be an Audience Award carrying a cash prize of $50,000.

The Golden Yusr Trophy takes its name from the black coral formations found off the Red Sea Coast. An international competition to design the award open to artists would be announced shortly.

The details of mentoring and production funds were also revealed, showcasing the Festival’s commitment to extolling talents with daring storytelling approaches from the Arab world.

A new post-production fund, The Bait Al Montage Fund, supports up to six Arab films with grants totaling $100,000. The grantees will be revealed during the Red Sea Souk, the Festival’s Industry Days, taking place March 13-17, 2020.

The announcement demonstrates the Festival’s support for a sustainable regional film industry, adding to the existing Red Sea Lodge — an intensive five-month mentoring and training program for 12 teams of Arab filmmakers.

Delivered in collaboration with TorinoFilmLab in the lead up to the 2020 Festival, two participants will be awarded grants of $500,000 each following an ‘in Festival’ pitch to a jury of industry leaders.

Also supporting production, the one-time Tamheed Fund will realize two new Saudi feature films bestowing grants of $500,000 each.

The enthusiasm of the local film scene was demonstrated in an overwhelming number of submissions, with The Book of Sun by Faris Godus and Forty Years and a Night by Mohammed Alholayyil selected. The films will be premiered at the inaugural Festival in March 2020.

Another production initiative is the $400,000 funding of a special Omnibus presenting up to 6 short films made by Saudi women filmmakers.

This articulates a commitment to new voices in Saudi filmmaking, encouraging stories from and by the Kingdom’s women. The short films will be shown as a collective at the 1st edition of the film festival. — SG