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Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival kicked off its third edition on Thursday with the world premiere of Dubai-based Iraqi director Yasir Al-Yasiri’s fantasy “Hwjn” and a glitzy red carpet featuring Will Smith, Sharon Stone, Baz Luhrmann, Ranveer Singh and a slew of Arabic stars.

Johnny Depp also posed on the red carpet and attended the opening gala, but kept a lower profile.

Depp is at the festival with Maïwenn’s Cannes-opener “Jeanne du Barry,” which was funded by the Red Sea Film Foundation. Maïwenn also made the trek to Jeddah. Depp’s relationship with the foundation now continues with his directorial effort “Modi,” a biopic about Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani also backed by the fund. The actor is scheduled to deliver an onstage conversation in the coming days.

The Israel-Hamas war that has caused cancellations of several movie celebrations across the Arab world has...

Baz Luhrmann will preside over the jury for the third edition of the festival

The Red Sea International Film Festival has revealed a starry line-up of juries and honorary awardees ahead of the launch of its third edition in Jeddah on Thursday.

The jury for the main feature film competition will comprise Suicide Squad star Joel Kinnaman, Bafta-nominated actor Freida Pinto, Egyptian Grand Hotel star Amina Khalil, and Spanish actor Paz Vega, known for Sex And Lucía and The Oa. As previously announced, Elvis director Baz Luhrmann will preside over the jury.

The festival in Saudi Arabia, which is set...

Diane Kruger, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and Saudi actor-writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan are set to receive career honors at Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival, which has also announced its full jury roster.

Joining Baz Luhrmann, who is presiding over the main Red Sea jury, are Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”); Freida Pinto (“Slumdog Millionaire”); Egyptian actor Amina Khalil; (“Grand Hotel”) and Spain’s Paz Vega.

Meanwhile, Turkish-German director Fatih Akin, who directed Kruger in “In The Fade,” will be on the fest’s shorts competition jury alongside Saudi writer and film critic Hana Alomair, who is behind the Netflix Saudi Arabian original “Whispers,” and French-Moroccan actor Assad Bouab (“Call My Agent”).

Dubai-based Iraqi director Yasir Al-Yasiri’s “Hwjn” has been chosen as the opening film of Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival.

The fest’s third edition is set to kick off Nov.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has unveiled the juries and honorees of its third edition which kicks off on Thursday in the port city of Jeddah.

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 Bafta nominee actor Freida Pinto, Egyptian Grand Hotel star Amina Khalil and Spanish actor Paz Vega.

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.

“We have a cohort of immense talent in this year’s jury, representing some of the leading creators of cinema from all corners of the world – and we are thrilled to...

Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei (“The Tambour of Retribution,” “Zero Distance”) is set to direct timely drama “Hobal,” about a Saudi family living in isolation in the desert during the early 1990s. The film will be shot in Neom, the sprawling production hub in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern corner.

“Hobal” will be Alshlahei’s third feature, segueing from his groundbreaking social issues drama “The Tambour of Retribution,” about the forbidden love between an executioner’s son and a wedding drummer’s daughter in turn-of-the-century Riyadh. “Tambour” scored two prizes at the Cairo Film Festival, was released on Netflix, and was Saudi Arabia’s submission for the 2022 best international feature film Oscar.

In “Hobal,” the Saudi family is following strict instructions from their grandfather to remain confined in the desert during the early 1990s, when a series of events shakes the family’s foundation and finds them in a struggle between life and death.

Dubai-based CEO Sam Barnett leads the Middle East’s largest broadcaster Mbc as it turbocharges its Shahid streaming service through a scripted content drive, and gives Netflix a run for its money.

Shortly before the holy month of Ramadan, which is marathon TV time in the Arab world, Barnett spoke to Variety about the still crucial relevance of Ramadan season in luring eyeballs, Mbc’s need to offer “interesting new types of content” outside of the holy period, and why the company remains resolutely pan-Arab while riding the wave of Saudi’s production boom.

There is a perception that Mbc is becoming more “Saudi-centric” since it now plays an important role in Saudi’s drive to become a major content producer. Can you talk to me about how this shift is playing out in your overall production strategy?

Mbc has always played a major role in the media in the Kingdom,...