DUBAI: The Red Sea International Film Festival, set to run from Dec. 6-15, announced on Monday the movies by Saudi filmmakers that will make up its New Saudi/New Cinema: Features slate.

The program will feature world premieres of the selected films by the Kingdom’s up-and-coming talent. The program is the latest selection of films to be announced amongst the 27 films being presented at the festival’s inaugural edition.

The films that will screen include: “Junoon” by directors Maan B. and Yaser B. Khalid, “Route 10” by Omar Naim, “Quareer” by Ragheed Al Nahdi, Norah Almowald, Ruba Khafagy, Fatma Alhazmi and Noor Alameer, “Fay’s Palette” by Anas Ba-Tahaf, “Becoming” by Sara Mesfer, Jawaher Alamri, Noor Alameer, Hind Alfahhad and Fatima Al-Banawi, “Kayan” by Hakeem Jomaah and “Cinema Al-Hara” by Faizah Ambah.

Each screening will be accompanied by a Q&A session with the filmmakers or the cast involved, providing an opportunity for the festival goers to discover new films and hear directly from the talents. 

The program manager Mohyee Qari said in a statement: “The Saudi program of feature and short films of which many are directed by female filmmakers speak to the very best of Saudi filmmaking.”

“They don’t hesitate to explore the different genres of cinema ranging from suspense to thriller, to social themes and relationships to show us the Saudi society in its richness,” he added. “They indicate an industry that is flourishing, both in terms of the diversity and content on screen, and point to the bright future that this young film industry has. We are thrilled to be able to give these filmmakers a platform to share their work on the international stage.”