Red Sea Souk
The Red Sea Souk has announced the winners of its Project Market during Souk Awards Ceremony, spotlighting standout projects from a curated selection of 31 feature films and 7 series. These remarkable projects, helmed by visionary directors from the Arab world, Africa, and Asia, were recognized with an impressive array of cash prizes and in-kind support.
Highlighting the evening, the Red Sea Fund backed nine awards—two for works-in-progress and seven for projects in development—reinforcing its dedication to nurturing cinematic brilliance and championing the next generation of storytellers.
PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT JURY
• Producers Elisa Fernanda Pirir (STÆR) - "Calls From Moscow"; "The Hypnosis"; "Everybody Loves Touda" (2024); "The Nights Still Smell Of Gunpowder" (2024)
• Georges Schoucair (Abbout Productions) - "Félicité" (2017), "Wajib" (2017), "Rafiki" (2018), "Beauty & The Dogs" (2018), "It Must Be Heaven" (2019), "A Son" (2019)
• Louise Bellicaud (In Vivo Films) - "Abou Leila" (2019), "Dos Estaciones" (2022), "Un Varon" (2022), "Levante" (2023), "Horizonte" (2024)
WORKS IN PROGRESS JURY
• Filmmaker/ Cinematographer Martika Ramirez Escobar from the Philippines. Escobar’s first feature film "Leonor Will Never Die" had its world premiere at Sundance and won the Special Jury Award for Innovative Spirit.
• Christophe Leparc, Managing Director of Quinzaine des Cinéastes and Head of Cinemed, Mediterranean Film Festival
• Fyzal Boulifa, Director/ Screenwriter, UK/Morocco."Lynn + Lucy" (2020); "The Damned Don't Cry" (2023). He has recently co-written Mahdi Fleifel's "To A Land Unknown" (2024).
SERIESLAB JURY
• Diego Ramírez Schrempp - Executive producer on "Falco", winner of an International Emmy award in 2019. Co-creator and showrunner on "Green Frontier" one of Colombia’s first original series for Netflix. Production supervisor on "Narcos" and co-creator and showrunner on "La Cabeza De Joaquín Murrieta" Executive producer on "One Hundred Years Of Solitude" for Netflix.
•Jennifer Chen - head of Channel Zero Studios. Previously, Jennifer served as VP of Programming for Channel Zero’s suite of Canadian broadcasting networks. Her production credits include "The Puzzle Lady", "Boot Camp", "Wynonna Earp" (Season 1), and "The Pinkertons."
• Nadia Tabbara - Screenwriter and creativity coach who has produced more than four regional TV series and her show "Awake" is the only Lebanese TV series that has ever been broadcast across all continents, most recently picked up by ARTE. She wrote and directed a fictionalized short film in the Internationally Emmy nominated series "Beirut: 607"
24 projects in development by filmmakers from Africa, Arab World or Asia were presented to an industry audience during the Souk including the 12 projects selected for this year’s Red Sea Lodge program, which have been developed through intensive workshops in partnership with the Torino Film Lab.
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said:"This year’s Red Sea Souk winners reflect the incredible talent and creativity emerging from Saudi Arabia, Arab world, Africa, and Asia. These regions hold immense storytelling power, and through initiatives like the Souk, we’re proud to support these voices, offering them a platform to flourish. Congratulations to all the winners—your success is a testament to the vibrant future of cinema in these underserved regions."
Director of the Red Sea Souk Holly Daniel, said: “This edition of the Souk Project market had a record number of meeting requests for the projects in selection which reflects the high calibre and potential of the teams taking part. We thank all our award partners for their support of the Souk and the amazing projects that they continue to champion.”
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