The Red Sea International Film Festival, the French Consulate in Jeddah and the French Cultural Center announced the winners of the second cycle of the Short Film Industry Challenge in 48 hours. Which aims to support filmmakers and creators in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The project is the result of the cooperation of the French Cultural Center, the French Consulate in Jeddah, the French Embassy in Riyadh and Fox Cinema, with the Red Sea International Film Festival. The challenge embraced budding filmmakers aged 18-25 to write, shoot and produce a short film in just two days.
The Red Sea Film Festival received 103 applications once morest the background of announcing the challenge last June, and then took the initiative to provide mentorship workshops over two days, which included a production workshop led by the award-winning Saudi director and producer Ayman Khoja, and another workshop entitled: Filmmaking It was led by Tunisian director Mehdi El-Barsawy, in addition to a cinematography workshop led by the famous Lebanese photographer, Muriel Abou El-Rous, and finally a script-writing workshop was presented by the Greek scriptwriter Stavros Raptis.
The challenge then moved to the intensive 48-hour stage, where the selected teams wrote, filmed and edited the short film from beginning to end, with the stipulated condition that it dealt with a single topic and combined it with surprising elements; A condition set by the challenge organizers. The jury was chaired by award-winning actor Dhafer El Abidine, and other members of the jury included the famous Saudi journalist and film director Wael Abu Mansour, and French director and screenwriter Claude Moreras, who has won international awards and is the founder of the National Higher Film School “Cinefabrik”. Then the challenge moved to the liquidation stage by the jury, which included 14 finalists, before selecting the winners.
Challenge winners
This year’s 48 Hours Filmmaking Challenge was won by the “Bright Frame” team led by Khaled Zeidan, who directed “The Child in His Wardrobe” with his colleagues Abdulaziz Al-Essa and Khaled Basudan. The other winning team is “Night Owls” led by Tala Al-Harbi who produced “When Red Roses Bloom” with her colleagues Loujain Salam, Natalie Siraj, Raghda Bahareth and Madawi Al Yahya.
On this occasion, the head of the jury, actor Dhafer Al-Abidin, commented, “Such competitions and programs such as the 48 Hours Film Challenge help us to search for and discover untapped talent in the Saudi cinema community, in order to provide them with the knowledge and expertise needed to become an active player in the film scene. Local and international. These excellent films, which were produced in just 48 hours, are nothing but confirmation of the ability of the new Saudi talents in the world of filmmaking and the cinematic scene.”
Mohammed Al Hashemi, Regional Head of Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment and Cinemas in Saudi Arabia added: “Talent development and nurturing are a cornerstone of building a sustainable film industry in the region, and initiatives such as the 48 Hour Challenge provide the much needed support and professional development needed for local creators to hone their skills. At VOX Cinemas, we are proud to display the winning films on the big screen, underscoring our commitment to supporting emerging talent and providing audiences with a glimpse into the rich culture of the Arab world. We congratulate all the participants and winners in general who represent the future of filmmaking.”
Professional Meetings for the 48 Hour Challenge
As additional support for the participating team members; In the second edition of the 48-Hour Challenge, the Red Sea International Film Festival held a professional meeting for the first time, where the members of the participating teams were hosted on 28-29 September at the French Consul General in Jeddah, and its program involves the participation of regarding 10 experts from Saudi Arabia and France to convey their advice And their experience for young men and women between the ages of 18-25, through individual interviews and workshops, in order to exchange visions and ideas and teamwork, to ensure maximum benefit for the participating teams working on making the future of cinema in Saudi Arabia and the region.
It is worth noting that the winning films in the challenge were shown at the awards ceremony hosted by Fox Cinemas on September 29, and the two teams that won the challenge were also awarded prizes designed by the artist, Rabih al-Akhras. While the leaders of the winning teams will be sent to France to complete the educational program, accompanied by world-class French photographers, during the next year 2023.
