Red Sea Fest Sets Viola Davis Honor, Competition Films, Johnny Depp’s ‘Modi,’ Robbie Williams Biopic
Honors for and onstage appearances by Viola Davis and Egyptian star Mona Zaki (Perfect Strangers, Flight 404, Aserb: The Squadron, The Spider), Johnny Depp’s new movie as a director and a biopic about Robbie Williams will be part of this year’s Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, organizers said Monday.
They also unveiled the competition lineup for the fest’s fourth edition. Organizers said that the overall lineup features 49 world and international premieres, also highlighting that six female filmmakers will be featured in the competition program.
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Among the 15 competition titles announced are Reema Kagti’s Superboys of Malegaon, which bowed at the Toronto Film Festival, and Kurdwin Ayub’s Moon, which had its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival where it won the special jury prize.
The RSIFF on Monday also added several galas to its lineup, plus unveiled its International Spectacular and its Families & Children programs.
The opening night gala screening will be Karim Shenawi’s The Tale of Daye’s Family. It tells “the story of an 11-year-old Nubian albino with a beautiful voice who faces adversity due to his unique appearance,” according to a synopsis. “Abandoned by his father and bullied by his peers, he dreams of following in the footsteps of his idol, singer and actor Mohamed Mounir. When he gets a chance to audition for The Voice, Daye and his family embark on a perilous journey from Aswan to Cairo.”
Meanwhile, Johnny Depp’s Modi – Three Days on the Wing of Madness will receive an awards night gala screening in Jeddah, and the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man from director Michael Gracey will be featured as the closing night gala screening.
Previously, the RSIFF picked 12 movies for its Festival Favorites selection of standouts from the fest circuit, including U.K. Oscar submission Santosh, an Indian police procedural about two women who form an unlikely alliance directed by Sandhya Suri, and Chinese auteur Guan Hu’s Black Dog, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes.
“Our foundation has long been dedicated to championing the female voice in film, so it feels especially meaningful that our first two honorees this year are two legendary women in cinema: Mona Zaki and Viola Davis,” said Jomana Al Rashid, chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation. “Both are not only immensely talented artists but also passionate advocates beyond their craft.”
The actresses will both discuss their careers in the fest’s “In Conversation” strand.
“I am deeply honored to be recognized alongside such phenomenal talent,” said Davis. “As a producer who is personally passionate about championing diverse narratives, I’m excited to collaborate with Red Sea to reach new audiences, and create a global platform for meaningful cultural exchange.”
Said Zaki: “I have closely followed and admired the many cultural achievements, particularly in cinematography, that have emerged in Saudi Arabia and through the Red Sea Film Festival. I look forward to the festival and to celebrate the magic of filmmaking with everyone from across the world.”
Check out the RSIFF 2024 competition lineup, as well as the International Spectacular, and families & children programs below.
Red Sea Film Festival Competition
Superboys of Malegaon (Reema Kagti)
Hanami (Denise Fernandes)
To a Land Unknown (Mahdi Fleifel)
Moon (Kurdwin Ayub)
Songs of Adam (Oday Rasheed)
Red Path (Lotfi Achour)
Snow White (Taghrid Abouelhassan)
Bin U Bin, Border Elsewhere (Mohamed Lakhdar Tati)
Saify (Wael Abumansour)
A?cha (Mehdi M. Barsaoui)
Seeking Haven for Mr Rambo (Khaled Mansour)
Sima’s Song (Roya Sadat)
6 in the Morning (Mehran Modiri)
To Kill a Mongolian Horse (Xiaoxuan Jiang)
Saba (Maksud Hossain)
International Spectacular program
40 Acres
R.T. Thorne (Canada)
“With civil war brewing, a Black military veteran and her indigenous partner are determined to protect their farm and their children against everyone.”
A Sudden Case of Christmas
Peter Chelsom (Italy)
“As long as there’s love, there’s Christmas.”
Better Man
Michael Gracey (UK, USA, Australia)
“From boy band to lounge singer, star to tabloid tragic and back to star again, this is the story of Take That heartthrob Robbie Williams.”
K-Pops!
Anderson .Paak (USA)
“It’s a long way to the top of the K-Pops chart when you want to rock ’n’ roll as a reunited father and son discover.”
Kraven the Hunter
J.C. Chandor (USA)
“Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless father, Nikolai Kravinoff, starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.”
Maria
Pablo Larraín (Italy, Germany, USA)
“Angelina Jolie commands the screen as the peerless opera diva Maria Callas in this imaginative account of her final days.”
Modi – Three Days on the Wing of Madness
Johnny Depp (UK, Italy, Hungary)
“A personal and universal tale of art, love and rejection told during a whirlwind seventy-two hours in the life of bohemian artist Modigliani.”
Monsieur Aznavour
Mehdi Idir, Fabien Marsaud (France)
“Tahir Rahim gives a stand-out performance as the legendary singer Charles Aznavour, who struggled from an impoverished childhood to become a household name.”
My Way
Thierry Teston, Lisa Azuelos (France, USA)
“The story of a song that, over 50 years and in dozens of versions, has become an international anthem.”
Napoli – New York
Gabriele Salvatores (Italy)
“In the post-war period two kids, Carmine and Celestina, secretly board a ship bound for New York, a city they will learn to call home.”
Ravens
Mark Gill (France, Japan, Spain, Belgium)
“An exploration of Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase’s tumultuous, tragic relationship with his second wife, Yoko, and his personal demons.”
State of Silence
Santiago Maza (Mexico)
“Four Mexican journalists who risk their lives to do their jobs – holding the powerful to account – testify to the urgency of a free press.”
We Live in Time
John Crowley (France, UK)
“An up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.”
Families & Children program
Night of the Zoopocalypse
Ricardo Curtis, Rodrigo Perez-Castro
“All the animals at friendly Colepepper Zoo are turning into zombies, thanks to a viral attack; the few survivors, led by young wolf Gracie, must find a cure before the virus infects the whole world.”
Panda Bear in Africa
Richard Claus, Karsten Kiilerich
“When his dragon friend is kidnapped as a gift for an African lion king, adventurous Panda Ping makes his way across seas, deserts and jungles to rescue him.”
Sukkar: Sabaabaa W Houboub Al Kharziz
Tamer Mahdy
“A bout of chickenpox becomes the unlikely catalyst for a series of adventures for young orphan Sukkar and her friends in this Arabic musical.”
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