JEDDAH — The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) with the support of the Saudi Film Commission (SFC) continues its mission to champion emerging talent and is supporting filmmakers with the opportunity to attend the 78th edition of the Venice International Film Festival which runs from Sept. 1-11, 2021.

The line-up of exciting young talent from the region will attend with a delegation from the Red Sea International Film Festival including, the Managing Director Shivani Pandya, Artistic Director Edouard Waintrop, the Chairman of the Festival Committee Mohammed Al Turki, Director of Arab Programs & Film Classics Antoine Khalife and Director of International Programming film critic Kaleem Aftab.

The Red Sea International Film Festival is in Venice to host a series of events including a gala evening designed to celebrate women in cinema and their incredible achievements in the industry, supporting the festivals mission to drive the empowerment and support of women both in front and behind the camera and the future generation of female creatives.

Participating Saudi filmmakers attending have the invaluable opportunity to gain exposure at one of the world’s most established festivals, pitch future projects, connect with studios, production houses and make many important connections with industry professionals from around the world, as well as hone their skills in the many developmental workshops and talks the festival has to offer.

The Red Sea Film Festival’s initiative, The Red Sea Fund, which champions the development, production and post-production of Arab films has supported ‘Amira’ from Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, which will enjoy its world premiere, competing within the Orizzonti section.

Waintrop said: “This is a perfect opportunity to promote the flourishing Saudi film industry at Venice and for our filmmakers to network with international counterparts on a prestigious global platform at one of the most sought-after slots in the film industry calendar.

“We are also thrilled to be supporting the world premiere of Mohamed Diab’s ‘Amira’ and Arab cinema as it continues to flourish on the world stage. We will also be selecting the very best of international cinema to present to Saudi audiences at the Red Sea Film Festival this December.” — SG