Red Sea International Film Festival announces Red Sea Lodge Second Edition Festival renews support for Arab and Saudi filmmakers Production grants of $100,000 awarded to two films

Today, the Red Sea International Film Festival opens applications for the Red Sea Lodge, delivered in  partnership with TorinoFilmLab.  

Returning for the second year, the Lodge provides intensive training, mentorship, creative and  professional development, and next-level industry opportunities to talented filmmakers from across the  Arab world. Twelve project teams, six from Saudi and six from the Arab world, comprising director(s),  producer(s), and scriptwriter(s), will participate in five workshops (four online and one on-site), before  competing for two awards of US$100,000 each. All projects will also be eligible to apply for production  funding through the Festival – a new structure that allows the program to enable and support a larger  number of projects.  

Red Sea Lodge Manager Jumana Zahid commented: “We are excited that we have a second occasion to  support a new group of participants and hopefully enable more Arab projects to reach audiences. During  the first edition, we witnessed the tremendous potential in the Arab and Saudi narrative. Facilitating  these emerging filmmakers seems like the very thing to do, especially in such uncertain times”.

The Lodge returns with an expanded program across eight months and five workshops throughout 2021.  Participants will explore each project's full dramatic and production potential, with sessions covering  personal and professional development, visualization, sales and marketing, and script development, as  well as ongoing engagement with cinematographers, producers, scriptwriters, sound designers, and  post-production specialists. There will be a creative focus for directors and scriptwriters, with a specialist  production strand for producers.  

The Managing Director Mercedes Fernandez from TorinoFilmLab commented: “Last year we discovered  the great potential of young, talented Saudi and Arab filmmakers. It was a fascinating experience to get  to know this group of professionals and support their work and growth as a community. We are very  excited to launch the second edition of Red Sea Lodge thanks to our collaboration with the Red Sea Film  Festival. Now more than ever, in this particular historical moment we are living, we feel compelled to  accompany Saudi and Arab filmmakers during their professional development and their connection with  the industry and the audience”.