Sci-fi thriller Slave (Abed) by Mansour Assad and Raven Song by Mohamed Al Salman took the top prizes at the ninth edition of the Saudi Film Festival, running from May 4 to 12 in the city of Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Slave (Abed) won the festival’s Golden Palm for best film, while Raven Song clinched the jury prize.
Mansour Assad’s Slave revolves around a couple who make a movie that results in anger and backlash from society. They are given the option of staying in the present or going back in time to rectify the action that enraged their community.
Slave also clinched best screenplay for Rulan Hasan and editing for Assad.
Raven Song follows a man who is wrongly diagnosed with a brain tumor after he starts having hallucinations. The film also walked away with Golden Palms for best cinematography and actor for Asim Al-Auad.
Read the Deadline...
Slave (Abed) won the festival’s Golden Palm for best film, while Raven Song clinched the jury prize.
Mansour Assad’s Slave revolves around a couple who make a movie that results in anger and backlash from society. They are given the option of staying in the present or going back in time to rectify the action that enraged their community.
Slave also clinched best screenplay for Rulan Hasan and editing for Assad.
Raven Song follows a man who is wrongly diagnosed with a brain tumor after he starts having hallucinations. The film also walked away with Golden Palms for best cinematography and actor for Asim Al-Auad.
Read the Deadline...
- 5/12/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s 2002 and raining brains in Riyadh, at least from the gormless Nasser’s wonky perspective. Nasser’s doctor is firmly convinced he has a brain tumour, which is his explanation for the protracted hallucinations Nasser experiences and that he, Dr Ahmed, is all too ready to excise. Nasser isn’t so sure: his dreams, fantasies and visions are more fun than the rest of his life, yoked beneath the twin tyrannies of his fanatical father and his boss at the thinly patronized Dove Hotel. Why get rid of the good stuff? Especially once those visions start to include the mysterious young woman who arrived unannounced one day to ask for the key to room 227. She’s welcome to walk the corridors of his mind any old time.
Raven Song is Mohamed Al Salman’s debut feature and Saudi Arabia’s submission for the Best International Feature Oscar, following its...
Raven Song is Mohamed Al Salman’s debut feature and Saudi Arabia’s submission for the Best International Feature Oscar, following its...
- 12/14/2022
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Mohamed Al Salman’s debut feature, “Raven Song,” had its world premiere at the Red Sea Film Festival on Friday, screening in Official Competition. The pic is about 30-year-old Nasser, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, but whose life is turned upside down when he meets an enigmatic young woman. The Saudi Film Commission has selected the film to represent Saudi Arabia for the 2023 Academy Awards.
Al Salman completed the Nyfa One-Year Filmmaking Conservatory program in 2019. His previous short films include two shorts in Netflix’s “Six Windows in the Desert” film collection: “27th of Shaban” and “Curtain.”
The Saudi director talked with Variety about the film, his career and future plans.
How did you become a filmmaker in a country where cinemas were banned until 2017?
I wasn’t fascinated with cinema as a kid, but my Dad loved using digital cameras. My elder brother used them to...
Al Salman completed the Nyfa One-Year Filmmaking Conservatory program in 2019. His previous short films include two shorts in Netflix’s “Six Windows in the Desert” film collection: “27th of Shaban” and “Curtain.”
The Saudi director talked with Variety about the film, his career and future plans.
How did you become a filmmaker in a country where cinemas were banned until 2017?
I wasn’t fascinated with cinema as a kid, but my Dad loved using digital cameras. My elder brother used them to...
- 12/5/2022
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
The goverment, institutions and private investors are now supporting local production.
Slowly, but surely, the number of local features being produced in Saudi Arabia is starting to rise.
Ever since cinemas first opened in the kingdom in 2018, exhibitors have largely relied on international movies from the likes of the US and Egypt to attract audiences.
Exhibitors are aware, however, that homegrown films which reflect the lives of local audiences are key for growing box office; local hits can turn good years into great years for cinemas. Over 580 screens have opened in the kingdom since the ban on cinemas was lifted...
Slowly, but surely, the number of local features being produced in Saudi Arabia is starting to rise.
Ever since cinemas first opened in the kingdom in 2018, exhibitors have largely relied on international movies from the likes of the US and Egypt to attract audiences.
Exhibitors are aware, however, that homegrown films which reflect the lives of local audiences are key for growing box office; local hits can turn good years into great years for cinemas. Over 580 screens have opened in the kingdom since the ban on cinemas was lifted...
- 12/5/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Our sixth edition of Arab Stars of Tomorrow spotlights rising Middle Eastern and North African talents.
In our sixth edition of Arab Stars of Tomorrow, Screen International spotlights five emerging Middle Eastern and North African talents in the fields of acting and directing.
This year’s selection comprises Saudi writer/director Mohamed Al Salman, Moroccan writer/director Sofia Alaoui, Lebanese writer/director Dania Bdeir, Tunisian actor Adam Bessa and Lebanese actor Ziad Jallad.
The showcase has been organised in cooperation with the Red Sea International Film Festival for the first time. At a launch panel held at the festival on...
In our sixth edition of Arab Stars of Tomorrow, Screen International spotlights five emerging Middle Eastern and North African talents in the fields of acting and directing.
This year’s selection comprises Saudi writer/director Mohamed Al Salman, Moroccan writer/director Sofia Alaoui, Lebanese writer/director Dania Bdeir, Tunisian actor Adam Bessa and Lebanese actor Ziad Jallad.
The showcase has been organised in cooperation with the Red Sea International Film Festival for the first time. At a launch panel held at the festival on...
- 12/5/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
The second edition of the Red Sea Film Festival starts on Thursday, Dec. 1, kicking of 10 days of cinema action in Saudi’s coastal metropolis of Jeddah.
To save international attendees some time, The Hollywood Reporter has gone through the festival program to pick out several things not to be missed.
The On-Stage Talks — Spike Lee, Sharon Stone, Luca Guadagnino and More
Given it’s only into its sophomore year and not exactly a short-haul flight away, the Red Sea Film Festival has managed to attract a hugely impressive assortment of international talent to its shores for special in-conversation events. Among those lined up to appear on stage at the Red Sea Mall are Sharon Stone, Andy Garcia, Guy Ritchie, Luca Guadagnino, Gurinder Chadha, Nadine Labaki, Akshay Kumar, Spike Lee, Andrew Dominik, Fatih Akin and Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah. El Arbi and...
The second edition of the Red Sea Film Festival starts on Thursday, Dec. 1, kicking of 10 days of cinema action in Saudi’s coastal metropolis of Jeddah.
To save international attendees some time, The Hollywood Reporter has gone through the festival program to pick out several things not to be missed.
The On-Stage Talks — Spike Lee, Sharon Stone, Luca Guadagnino and More
Given it’s only into its sophomore year and not exactly a short-haul flight away, the Red Sea Film Festival has managed to attract a hugely impressive assortment of international talent to its shores for special in-conversation events. Among those lined up to appear on stage at the Red Sea Mall are Sharon Stone, Andy Garcia, Guy Ritchie, Luca Guadagnino, Gurinder Chadha, Nadine Labaki, Akshay Kumar, Spike Lee, Andrew Dominik, Fatih Akin and Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah. El Arbi and...
- 11/30/2022
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Just days before the curtain rises on the second edition of the Red Sea Film Festival, which takes place Dec. 1 – 10 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saudi filmmakers were out in force this week at the Cairo Film Festival, where they sought to highlight the rapid strides being taken by their country’s burgeoning screen industry.
Abduljalil Al-Nasser, general manager of sector development and investment at the Saudi Film Commission, praised the combination of public support and private equity pouring into the industry during a panel moderated by film critic Jay Weissberg. “There is now a serious commitment to make the film industry in Saudi Arabia happen,” he said.
Characterizing the rapid growth as “unprecedented even around the world” and pointing to seismic shifts in everything from talent development and production to distribution and exhibition, Al-Nasser added: “What Saudi filmmakers have been trying to do over many years, and they’ve been...
Abduljalil Al-Nasser, general manager of sector development and investment at the Saudi Film Commission, praised the combination of public support and private equity pouring into the industry during a panel moderated by film critic Jay Weissberg. “There is now a serious commitment to make the film industry in Saudi Arabia happen,” he said.
Characterizing the rapid growth as “unprecedented even around the world” and pointing to seismic shifts in everything from talent development and production to distribution and exhibition, Al-Nasser added: “What Saudi filmmakers have been trying to do over many years, and they’ve been...
- 11/21/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Chennai, Nov 8 (Ians) After a successful theatrical run in India, ‘Last Film Show’ (‘Chhello Show’), India’s official entry to the Oscars, has now been selected in the main competition at the 2022 Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia.
The film will compete with the best of Arab, Asian and African cinema at the second edition of the festival, which is being held from December 1 to December 10 in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The jury of this year’s Red Sea Competition is being presided over by legendary Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone. Other titles in the competition include Omar Mouldouira’s ‘A Summer in Boujad’ (Morocco), Mohamed Al Salman’s ‘Raven Song’ (Saudi), Reza Jami’s ‘A Childless Village’ (Iran), July Jung’s ‘Next Sohee’ (South Korea) and more.
In all, the 2022 Red Sea International Film Festival will showcase 131 feature and short films from 61 countries.
The film will compete with the best of Arab, Asian and African cinema at the second edition of the festival, which is being held from December 1 to December 10 in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The jury of this year’s Red Sea Competition is being presided over by legendary Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone. Other titles in the competition include Omar Mouldouira’s ‘A Summer in Boujad’ (Morocco), Mohamed Al Salman’s ‘Raven Song’ (Saudi), Reza Jami’s ‘A Childless Village’ (Iran), July Jung’s ‘Next Sohee’ (South Korea) and more.
In all, the 2022 Red Sea International Film Festival will showcase 131 feature and short films from 61 countries.
- 11/8/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 10/31/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
China Selects Feelgood Hit ‘Nice View’ for Oscars Race
China has selected feelgood comedy drama film “Nice View” as its contender for the best international feature film category of the Academy Awards.
The Chinese film industry has pursued an increasingly separate course from the rest of the world this year – few foreign titles have been granted import permits and quota release slots, and, similarly, few Chinese films have been allowed to play at overseas film festivals. So, it was unclear whether Chinese authorities would participate in the Oscars process and submit a national contender.
Inviting comparisons with “The Pursuit of Happyness,” the plot of “Nice View” involves a 20-year orphaned man who moves to the Shenzhen megacity and works as a repair man to raise money for his six-year-old sister’s heart surgery. When it goes wrong, his plan to borrow money to buy crates full of second-hand telephones leaves...
China has selected feelgood comedy drama film “Nice View” as its contender for the best international feature film category of the Academy Awards.
The Chinese film industry has pursued an increasingly separate course from the rest of the world this year – few foreign titles have been granted import permits and quota release slots, and, similarly, few Chinese films have been allowed to play at overseas film festivals. So, it was unclear whether Chinese authorities would participate in the Oscars process and submit a national contender.
Inviting comparisons with “The Pursuit of Happyness,” the plot of “Nice View” involves a 20-year orphaned man who moves to the Shenzhen megacity and works as a repair man to raise money for his six-year-old sister’s heart surgery. When it goes wrong, his plan to borrow money to buy crates full of second-hand telephones leaves...
- 10/31/2022
- by Patrick Frater, Anna Marie de la Fuente, Elsa Keslassy, Leo Barraclough, Nick Vivarelli, Mark Schilling, John Hopewell, Jennie Punter, Naman Ramachandran and Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Oliver Stone will preside over the main competition jury for the second edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, honoring a promise to attend in that role dating back to 2020.
The Oscar-winning Born on the Fourth of July and Natural Born Killers director was previously announced as jury president for the festival’s inaugural 2020 edition, which was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
The festival, running December 1-10 in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, unveiled most of the lineup for its sophomore edition Monday. As of now, the event will showcase 131 feature-length and short films from 61 countries in total, 34 of them world premieres, 17 regional premieres, and 47 Mena premieres.
The main competition focuses on works by Arab, African and Asian directors and will showcase 15 films, with potential additions to come. They include the world premiere of Moroccan and French director Omar Mouldouira’s A Summer in Boujad,...
The Oscar-winning Born on the Fourth of July and Natural Born Killers director was previously announced as jury president for the festival’s inaugural 2020 edition, which was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
The festival, running December 1-10 in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, unveiled most of the lineup for its sophomore edition Monday. As of now, the event will showcase 131 feature-length and short films from 61 countries in total, 34 of them world premieres, 17 regional premieres, and 47 Mena premieres.
The main competition focuses on works by Arab, African and Asian directors and will showcase 15 films, with potential additions to come. They include the world premiere of Moroccan and French director Omar Mouldouira’s A Summer in Boujad,...
- 10/31/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Oliver Stone to head features competition jury.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has unveiled the programme for its second edition (December 1-10), with Studiocanal and Working Title’s romantic comedy What’s Love Got To Do With It? playing as the opening night gala.
Directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Jemima Khan, What’s Love Got To Do With It? stars Lily James and Shazad Latif in the story of two people from different cultures who fall in love. It launched at the Toronto International FIlm Festival in September.
Rsiff will close with the world...
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has unveiled the programme for its second edition (December 1-10), with Studiocanal and Working Title’s romantic comedy What’s Love Got To Do With It? playing as the opening night gala.
Directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Jemima Khan, What’s Love Got To Do With It? stars Lily James and Shazad Latif in the story of two people from different cultures who fall in love. It launched at the Toronto International FIlm Festival in September.
Rsiff will close with the world...
- 10/31/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
Director Mohamed Al Salman’s Raven Song, a coming-of-age comedy about a young man, Nasar, who is dared by his best friend to reach out to a mystery woman by singing a love poem, has been chosen by Saudi Arabia as its contender for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Shot in Riyadh, Raven Song stars Asem Alawad, Ibrahim Khairallah and Kateryna Tkachenko and is produced by Ahmed Mousa and Telfaz 11. Al Salman’s film was among the winners of the Saudi Film Commission’s Daw Film Competition to discover and support new Saudi filmmaking talent.
Also, Mongolia’s Harvest Moon, the directorial debut of Mongolian actor Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, who played Kublai Khan’s brother Ariq Böke in Netflix’s Marco Polo drama, has been picked to represent that country in the Oscar competition for best international movie.
Baljinnyam, who also stars in Harvest Moon,...
Director Mohamed Al Salman’s Raven Song, a coming-of-age comedy about a young man, Nasar, who is dared by his best friend to reach out to a mystery woman by singing a love poem, has been chosen by Saudi Arabia as its contender for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Shot in Riyadh, Raven Song stars Asem Alawad, Ibrahim Khairallah and Kateryna Tkachenko and is produced by Ahmed Mousa and Telfaz 11. Al Salman’s film was among the winners of the Saudi Film Commission’s Daw Film Competition to discover and support new Saudi filmmaking talent.
Also, Mongolia’s Harvest Moon, the directorial debut of Mongolian actor Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, who played Kublai Khan’s brother Ariq Böke in Netflix’s Marco Polo drama, has been picked to represent that country in the Oscar competition for best international movie.
Baljinnyam, who also stars in Harvest Moon,...
- 10/28/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Saudi Film Commission (Sfc) has announced that four feature film project that are winners of its Daw Film Competition to discover new local talent and champion the next generation of filmmakers have finished principal photography.
These works, which are likely to surface on the festival circuit, are a tangible sign that Saudi Arabia’s nascent local industry is fostering local films with potential to travel as well as to play for local audiences.
The films are:
“Within Sand,” a first work by Moe Alatawi inspired by the true story of a 23-year-old tobacco merchant ambushed by thieves in the desert who leave him to fend for himself with only a dagger. The film, produced by Reem Alatawi and Riyadh-based Alsarid Films, features an all-Saudi cast, while 70 of its film crew hails from Saudi Arabia. This is the first homegrown production to shoot in the unique landscapes of Neom, the...
These works, which are likely to surface on the festival circuit, are a tangible sign that Saudi Arabia’s nascent local industry is fostering local films with potential to travel as well as to play for local audiences.
The films are:
“Within Sand,” a first work by Moe Alatawi inspired by the true story of a 23-year-old tobacco merchant ambushed by thieves in the desert who leave him to fend for himself with only a dagger. The film, produced by Reem Alatawi and Riyadh-based Alsarid Films, features an all-Saudi cast, while 70 of its film crew hails from Saudi Arabia. This is the first homegrown production to shoot in the unique landscapes of Neom, the...
- 9/6/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has picked up a slew of short firms from Saudi Arabia start-up Telfaz11 Studios.
The streamer has nabbed six films, which aim to shine a light on thought-provoking subjects with a focus on social themes. The films will be available to watch in 190 countries from February 27.
The digital platform will badge the films under the banner Six Windows in the Desert.
The movies shine light on topics that are universal in nature; social taboos, extremism and the human psyche are among the issues viewers can expect to watch. They will offer audiences a lens into the perspective of the Saudi creators.
The films are 27th of Shaban, Wasati, Is Sumyati going to Hell?, Predicament in Sight, The Rat and Curtain.
27th of Shaban, from Mohamed Al Salman, follows Mohammed and Nouf who go on a date, an act prohibited in Saudi Arabia. Wasati, directed by Ali Kalthami, is...
The streamer has nabbed six films, which aim to shine a light on thought-provoking subjects with a focus on social themes. The films will be available to watch in 190 countries from February 27.
The digital platform will badge the films under the banner Six Windows in the Desert.
The movies shine light on topics that are universal in nature; social taboos, extremism and the human psyche are among the issues viewers can expect to watch. They will offer audiences a lens into the perspective of the Saudi creators.
The films are 27th of Shaban, Wasati, Is Sumyati going to Hell?, Predicament in Sight, The Rat and Curtain.
27th of Shaban, from Mohamed Al Salman, follows Mohammed and Nouf who go on a date, an act prohibited in Saudi Arabia. Wasati, directed by Ali Kalthami, is...
- 2/12/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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