Freida Pinto joins Red Sea Film Fest jury; Ranveer to receive honour

The festival will open with the world premiere of the Saudi fantasy romance HWJN, directed by Yasir Al Yasiri.

• Mohnish Singh
• 30 November, 2023

Follow Us

By: Mohnish Singh

Red Sea International Film Festival recently unveiled its line-up of juries and awardees for its third edition which kicks off today on November 30.

The festival takes place in Jeddah on the Red Sea’s eastern shore. The event will conclude on December 9.

Baz Luhrmann, who was previously announced as the president of the jury for the main feature film competition, will be joined by Swedish-American Suicide Squad and For All Mankind actor Joel Kinnaman, Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto, Egyptian Grand Hotel star Amina Khalil and Spanish actor Paz Vega (Sex and Lucia, The OA).

The Red Sea: Shorts competition will be judged by leading Saudi writer, director and film critic Hana Alomair, French-Moroccan Call My Agent star Assad Bouab and award-winning Turkish-German film director, screenwriter and producer Fatih Akin.

The festival will open with the world premiere of the Saudi fantasy romance HWJN, directed by Yasir Al Yasiri.

Diane Kruger, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and Saudi actor-writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan will be honoured at the festival.

The Red Sea Honouree Award is conferred on artists who have contributed to shaping the history of cinema.

In a press statement, Mohammed Al-Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said, “This year we are honouring Ranveer Singh, an icon of Hindi cinema; Diane Kruger, who has delivered us a series of unforgettable characters from Helen of Troy to Tarantino’s Bridget von Hammersmark and affected us with her powerhouse performance of the avenging Angel Katja in Fatih Akin’s In the Fade.”

Al-Turki continued, “Also honour hugely beloved Abdullah Al-Sadhan who has been a mainstay of Saudi entertainment through Tash ma Tash for two decades and will also appear in this year’s competition title Norah.”

“We are thrilled to be recognising each of their varied and deep contributions to cinema and to have them with us for our third edition,” he added.