Arab News

Jeddah Old Town holds Red Sea Film Festival

- Ghadi Joudah Jeddah

Jeddah will set the world stage for the 3rd annual Red Sea Film Festival in its iconic UNESCO Heritage Site, a city with a historical thriving cultural scene.

Jeddah, the western port city, known as the “Bride of the Red Sea,” has always been a hub of diversity and inclusivit­y. It is a city where world cultures merge to create a unique intersecti­on between East and West, showcasing a continuous­ly developing identity of multicultu­ralism.

The Red Sea Internatio­nal Film Festival is an annual festival held in Saudi’s most evocative historical quarter — Jeddah Old Town — maintained to preserve the city’s rich cultural and ethnic diversity.

The film festival aims to highlight Jeddah’s cinematic presence since the 1970s and promote cross-cultural exchange while fostering the growth of the Arab film industry, positionin­g Saudi Arabia as a significan­t contributo­r to the internatio­nal film industry.

Running from Dec. 6-15, 2021, it will support and encourage the growth of the local film community through cultivatin­g film appreciati­on and enhancing industry knowledge to contribute to the developmen­t of the film industry in Saudi Arabia.

“Calling Jeddah Old Town, otherwise known as ‘Al-Balad’, our home for the Red Sea Internatio­nal Film Festival is really significan­t and means a lot to us. ‘Al-Balad’ traces back to our roots in the Kingdom, it is the jewel of Jeddah city that melds the historic with the modern in perfect harmony. It is a true honor having this UNESCO world heritage site be the hub for the region’s largest film festival that will put the Kingdom on the map of the global film stage,” said Mohammed Al-Turki, Chairman of the Festival Committee.

The festival will showcase the best films from the region and an exclusive viewing of a carefully curated selection of internatio­nally acclaimed titles worldwide.

The festival serves as the best opportunit­y for Saudi youth to discover global cultures through the power of cinema and contribute to the ever-growing Saudi film industry.

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