Red Sea Film Festival Foundation
Cultural organization in Saudi Arabia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation (Arabic: مؤسسة مهرجان البحر الأحمر السينمائي) is a non-profit cultural organization registered in Saudi Arabia.[1][2] The foundation is chaired by Jomana Al Rashid while the president of the foundation is the Saudi producer Mohammed Al Turki.[2][3]
| Formation | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit cultural organization |
| Purpose | Cultural |
Chairwoman | Jomana Al Rashid |
President | Mohammed Al Turki |
History
The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation was founded by Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud, the Saudi Minister of Culture.[4]
Responsibilities
The main responsibility of the foundation is organizing the Red Sea International Film Festival, an annual film festival launched in 2019 and held in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, originally schedule to start in 2020, but then delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The inaugural film festival was held on Dec 6–15, 2021.[6] The foundation is also in charge of supporting the local film industry and national storytellers by providing education and grants.[2] Additionally, the foundation has helped finance international productions such as the 2023 French film Jeanne du Barry and the 2024 Italian film Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness.[7][4]
Red Sea Labs
The foundation runs the Red Sea Labs which provide supports for filmmakers through training, mentorship and grants? with an emphasis on projects with origins in the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, and other parts of Africa.
As of 2025, the Labs’ programs include a directors lab, a series lab and the feature films program, which was originally known as the Lodge.[8]
In collaboration with TorinoFilmLab, the feature films program has selected some filmmakers and provides them with training and development through all stages of filmmaking. The outcomes of the training and development processes are then presented during the Red Sea International Film Festival, where work was honored with a variety of cash grants.[9]
