It has been noted that 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.
Johnny Depp, an American actor and film producer, has a close relationship with a foundation that supports various artistic projects. As part of this relationship, Depp is directing a biopic titled “Modi” about the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, which is also being funded by the foundation. Depp is also scheduled to have an onstage conversation about the project in the near future.
Despite the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict causing the cancellation of several movie events across the Arab world, the foundation’s third annual festival, which runs from November 30th to December 9th, will still take place in Jeddah on the eastern shore of the Red Sea.
Held in the auditorium of Jeddah’s Ritz Carlton hotel, the opening ceremony reaffirmed this year’s festival theme of “Your story, your festival” given that Jeddah, is also the city where “HWJN,” the opener, is set. The fantasy is based on the YA novel by Saudi writer Ibraheem Abbas which was a local literary phenomenon due to its pioneering combination of Western sci-fi tropes and Arabic culture and folklore.
There are eight Saudi films across the fest’s official selection, two of which are in the 17-title competition.
“Tonight we are privileged to be in the presence of remarkable talent not only from Saudi Arabia but [from] Africa, Asia and around the world,” said Jomana Al Rashid, chairman of the Red Sea Film Festival’s foundation, in her opening remarks. She noted that since its launch in 2021 the fund has supported over 250 films and was a backer of eight films in this year’s Cannes official selection. Al Rashid also pointed out that Saudi’s theatrical box office has doubled since the pandemic and is on track to reach the billion dollar mark by 2030.
