03/12/2024 - The industry sidebar of the Red Sea International Film Festival, unspooling from 7-11 December, will feature both film and episodic projects

Even though the Red Sea International Film Festival has only been up and running for four years, its industry event – the Red Sea Souk, unspooling from 7-11 December – is already very much sought after, and many emerging filmmakers seek the support that it offers. With financial awards in the form of grants as high as $75,000 (the Red Sea Souk Best Production Award) and many other in-kind prizes, it provides some very significant backing.

The accepted projects are divided into three sections: Red Sea Souk Projects (12 works in development and seven works in progress), The Lodge Projects (12 projects that participate in the Red Sea Lodge development programme) and Red Sea SeriesLab (seven episodic titles). They will be presented at the usual pitching sessions and evaluated by three different juries. The projects hail from over 20 countries; 16 out of the 38 titles are co-productions with European countries, including France, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Norway and Belgium.

“The Souk continues to be your window into the Arab and African film industries, and from this year onwards, we have opened up our opportunities to talent and projects from the whole of the Asian continent,” say Holly Daniel, Souk director, and the event’s manager, Zain Zedan. The event also offers a series of panel discussions aimed at up-and-coming filmmakers, which map out how the industry works, as well as hosting workshops for film critics and a series of networking sessions.

Here is the full list of projects taking part:

Red Sea Souk Projects in Development

Do Re Mimi – Fatima Al-Banawi (Saudi Arabia)
Production: Alf Wad for Audiovisual Productions

Farouk – Halkawt Mustafa (Iraq/Norway)
Production: Hene Films

Haven of Hope - Seemab Gul (Pakistan)
Production: Cinelava

Holy Cow (working title) – Asmae El Moudir (Morocco)
Production: Insightfilms

It’s Okay, I’m Only Human – Karim Ghorayeb, George Peter Barbari (Lebanon/France)
Production: Bittersweet Pictures

La Pyramide – Cj “Fiery” Obasi (USA/Brazil/Senegal/UK/Nigeria)
Production: Bardo Openvizor

Mother, Maybe – Sonny Calvento (Philippines/Singapore/Taiwan)
Production: Southern Lantern Studios

Robbing Beirut – Katia Jarjoura (Lebanon/France)
Production: Blue Train Films

Tahmina – Aboozar Amini (Netherlands/Afghanistan/Canada/Germany)
Production: Silk Road Film Salon bv

The Loneliness of the Light Skin One – Baloji (DR Congo/Belgium/France/Netherlands/South Africa)
Production: Wrong Men

The Sea Was Once Blue – Mohamad El-Hadidi (Egypt/France)
Production: Furyo Films

Watch It Burn - Makbul Mubarak (Indonesia)
Production: KawanKawan Media

Red Sea Souk Works in Progress

A Winner Is Seen at the Start – Zhannat Alshanova (Kazakhstan/France/Netherlands/Lithuania)
Production: Films de Force Majeure

Allah Is Not Obliged – Zaven Najjar (France/Luxembourg/Belgium/Canada)
Production: Special Touch Studios

Dandelion’s Odyssey – Momoko Seto (Japan/France/Belgium)
Production: Miyu

Fuxi – Jiongjiong Qiu (Taiwan/France/Japan)
Production: Uluka Studio Limited, Midnight Blur Films, Rise Pictures Co, Ltd

Guria – Levan Koguashvili (Georgia/Switzerland/Luxembourg/Bulgaria/Turkey)
Production: Kino Iberica

Memory of Princess Mumbi – Damien Hauser (Kenya/Switzerland)
Production: Hauserfilm

Vagabonds – Amartei Armar (Ghana)
Production: AKA Entertainment Ltd

SeriesLab Projects

B’itha (Saudi Arabia)
Screenwriter: Noorah Al-Eidi
Producer: Sheheryar Ahsan

Cold Cas-One (Pullukandam Murder Case) (India)
Screenwriter: Nithin Lukose

Generation A (Kenya)
Screenwriter: Mona Ombogo
Producer: Lousie Kamwangi

Pazuzu (Iraq)
Screenwriter: Ali Kareem

Saria Othoman Needs No Man (Lebanon)
Screenwriter: Estephan Khattar
Producer: Hiba Louis

Shani Bazaar (India)
Screenwriter: Karan Kabir

Switch (Uganda)
Screenwriter: Nathan Mangoola
Producer: Nathan Mangoola

The Lodge Projects

Assa, a Fish in a Bowl – Dahlia Nemlich (Lebanon/France/Denmark)
Production: Special Touch Studios

Blue Card – Mohammaed Alomda (Sudan/Egypt)
Production: Station Films Cinema Production Co Ltd

Close Rose Close – Rulan Hasan (Saudi Arabia)
Production: Righters House

Hadd – Jamal Kutbi (Saudi Arabia)
Production: FishEye Films

I Didn’t Sign up for This – Lana Komsany (Saudia Arabia)
Production: Agency al-Muntijun Bahitraf for Art Production (aka Rose Panthera)

I’ll Smile in September – Aakash Chhabra (India/Singapore)
Production: Crawling Angel Films, Sanjay Gulati, Akanga Film
Asia, Fran Borgia

Jaysan – Aisha Sultanbekova (Kyrgyzstan)
Production: Koyon Media

Manjano – Omar Hamza (Kenya)
Production: Giza Visuals

Pepo Kali – Lydia Matata (Kenya)
Production: The Ololokwe Movie Company

Tarfaya – Sofia Alaoui (Morocco/France/Belgium)
Production: Jiango Films

Terbakar – Shelby Kho (Indonesia/Singapore)
Production: Momo Film Co

The Silent Ones – Jawahine Zentar (France/Morocco)
Production: Offshore