The fifth Red Sea International Film Festival, which will take place between 4 and 13 December in the coastal city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will offer over 100 films from more than 70 countries, including 38 world premieres. The UK-US co-production Giant by Rowan Athale, with a cast led by Amir El-Masry and Pierce Brosnan, will open the event.

All of the screenings will take place for the second time in Al Balad, a historical part of Jeddah and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Sixteen films have been selected for the Red Sea: Competition strand, 11 of which were co-produced with 12 European countries. They include the Berlinale Competition title Yunan [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Ameer Fakher Eldin (Germany/Canada/Italy/Palestine/Qatar/Jordan/Saudi Arabia); The Stories by Abu Bakr Shawky (Egypt/France/Austria/Sweden), which will have its world premiere at Tallinn Black Nights later this month; and All That’s Left of You [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Cherien Dabis
scheda film] by Cherien Dabis (Germany/Greece/Jordan/Cyprus/Palestine), previously screened at Sundance and Karlovy Vary.

Other titles going head to head include A Sad and Beautiful World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Cyril Aris
scheda film] by Cyril Aris (Lebanon/USA/Germany/Saudi Arabia/Qatar), Allah Is Not Obliged [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Zaven Najjar (France/Luxembourg/Belgium/Canada/Saudi Arabia), Hijra [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Shahad Ameen (Saudi Arabia/Iraq/Egypt/UK), Irkalla – Gilgamesh’s Dream [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji (Iraq/UK/France/United Arab Emirates/Saudi Arabia/Qatar), Lost Land [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Akio Fujimoto (Japan/France/Malaysia/Germany), Roqia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Yanis Koussim
scheda film] by Yanis Koussim (France/Algeria/Qatar/Saudi Arabia), Sink [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Zain Duraie (Jordan/Saudi Arabia/Qatar/France) and Truck Mama by Zippy Nyaruri (Kenya/South Africa/Saudi Arabia/Netherlands), which were all made with European partners and will vie for the Yusr Awards. Fionnuala Halligan, the newly appointed director of International Programs, said in a press release, “Our selection celebrates filmmakers who push the boundaries and expand the language of cinema – showing how creativity thrives when cultures meet.”

Other programme strands also include some European co-productions: the Toronto title Palestine 36 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine/UK/France/Denmark/Norway/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Jordan) will be shown in Arab Spectacular, while the International Spectacular section has picked up the Toronto- and San Sebastián-screened Angelina Jolie-starrer Couture [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alice Winocour, Louis Garrel
scheda film] by Alice Winocour (France/USA); Farruquito - A Flamenco Dynasty by Santi Aguado and Reuben Atlas (Spain/USA), also freshly selected for Seville; and The Wizard of the Kremlin [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Olivier Assayas (France), which premiered at Venice and also got an airing at Toronto. Additionally, The Big Blue, a 1988 flick by Luc Besson (France/USA/Italy), is to be presented within the Red Sea: Treasures sidebar.

Finally, audiences will be able to enjoy two widely acclaimed movies in the Special Screenings strand: The Voice of Hind Rajab [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kaouther Ben Hania
scheda film] by Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia/France), winner of the Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize at Venice, and Sirât [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Óliver Laxe
scheda film] by Óliver Laxe (Spain/France), the Jury Prize winner from Cannes.

The full selection can be viewed on the festival’s website.