Hend Sabri photographed by Amr Ezzeldinn for Vogue Arabia November 2019
The Red Sea International Film Festival is launching a new filmmaking challenge to inspire young creatives, and Egypt-based Tunisian actor Hend Sabri will be part of the award-winning jury.
The initiative has been developed by the film festival, to encourage young filmmakers from Saudi Arabia to produce new work. The challenge will take place over a period of 48-hours, where teams of up to five members will be required to produce, shoot, and edit an original short film lasting between three to six minutes long.
The challenge will be evaluated by a jury, chaired by former Vogue Arabia cover star Sabri, alongside Saudi Arabian director Faiza Saleh Ambah, director Mohammed al Hamoud, Belgian film director Lisa Sallustio, and French film director Brice Cauvin.
Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 25 and will be selected to receive three days of support and mentoring between Thursday, October 22, and Saturday, October 24 in preparation for the challenge. The films shot by the teams must explore any of the themes: de-coding, creating, playing, or thinking, and all expenses must be covered by the team members themselves.
The final films will be shown at a screening between November 2 -4, where two teams will be announced as the winners on November 9. The winners will receive trophies designed by the artist Rabi Alakhras as well as a filmmaking residency at La Femis, a film and television school in Paris, for 2021.
The project is part of a collaboration between the Alliance Francaise, the Consulate General of France in Jeddah, the French Embassy in Riyadh, the Red Sea International Film Festival, and La Femis.
This project will see Sabri’s return to a film festival jury panel, having previously been the first Arab jury member of the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a debut film, at the 76th Venice Film Festival.
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