Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)- The Red Sea Film Festival continues its activities in its third session, which has made the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia one of the main places to bring together the most important filmmakers and stars of the seventh art from different parts of the world.

This year, the festival celebrates cinema in Saudi Arabia with the slogan “Your Story, Your Festival” with the participation of Arab and international cinematographic works.

The third session, which will be held from November 30 to December 8, will showcase more than 64 films, including 36 feature and short films, 11 films in the “Arab Masterpieces” category and fiction, documentaries and 17 films from Saudi Arabia. Animation from all over Asia, Africa and the Arab world in one competition. Red Sea.

The festival will see the world premieres of “After Waiting for the Rain”, a children’s fairy tale set in Kenya, and “Goblin Marathi”, a classic Egyptian film restored with the latest technologies by the Red Sea Film Institute, directed by Fateen Abdel. In 1986 he starred in Wahab and Egyptian Icon. Premieres for the Shadia, Middle East and North Africa region include “Selim” (Jordan) and “Crossing the Bridge: The Voice of Istanbul.”

Artists who walked the red carpet at the start of the ceremony included Will Smith, Johnny Depp and Sharon Stone from the US, Fathi Akin from Germany, Sofia Vergara from Colombia, Nabila Obaid and Lebleba from Egypt, Adel Karam and Nicolas Mouwat. from Lebanon, and Ghusay Qawli from Syria.

Saudi actor Abdullah Al-Satan, German actress Diane Kruger and Indian actor Ranveer Singh were honored at the ceremony.

The festival also dedicates a section to highlight local filmmakers titled “New Saudi Cinema,” and includes documentaries and feature films that reflect aspects of the promising film industry in the region.

At the start, the festival screened the Saudi movie “Hawjan” directed by Yasser Al-Yasiri starring Noor Al-Qadra, Bara Alam, Nayef Al-Tafiri, Al-Anood Saud, Mohsen Mansour and Shaima Al-Tayeb. It is adapted from a novel of the same title by Ibrahim Abbas.

“Hawjan” is a Saudi fantasy and romantic film. It tells the story of a genie who lives among humans in the city of Jeddah and goes on adventures and journeys to confront evil and reclaim his rights, trying to maintain a balance between his world and his life among humans. Then a love affair arises. Between him and a girl named Sawsan who is studying in medical college.

Jumana Al-Rashed, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Red Sea Film Festival Foundation, said, “The Saudi film industry has become the fastest growing film industry in the region as movie ticket revenues have doubled since the corona virus outbreak subsided. Achievement levels comparable to those in more established countries.”

In conjunction with the festival, the “Red Sea Market” will take place from the second to the fifth of December and is a platform dedicated to discovering the best and latest products and projects of the Arab and African film market. It is an attractive destination for distributors, festival programmers and producers.

Celebrating female voices in the film industry, highlighting their achievements in front of and behind the camera and showcasing their efforts in shaping cinema, the festival is celebrating its fifth year honoring women in cinema in partnership with Vanity Fair Europe. New generation talent in Saudi Arabia, Africa and India.