Chinese cinemas to showcase Saudi films for the first time

As film is shown as part of Saudi Film Nights in Sydney, Australia. (X/@FilmMOC)
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Updated 08 October 2024
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Chinese cinemas to showcase Saudi films for the first time

  • Special screenings from Oct. 21-26 in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou follow similar events in Morocco and Australia

RIYADH: A series of Saudi Film Nights will take place in China, the world’s largest cinema market, for the first time this month to showcase movies from the Kingdom. It follows similar events in Morocco and Australia.

The special screenings, organized by the Saudi Film Commission, will run from Oct. 21-26 in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou, before the films go on general release in Chinese theaters. The diverse selection of films includes features and shorts, and the screenings will be accompanied by discussions with filmmakers, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

This initiative reflects the commission’s efforts to develop and grow the Saudi film industry, highlight local talent, and promote cultural exchanges and collaborations.


Billboard Arabia Music Awards celebrates regional music scene

Updated 12 December 2024
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Billboard Arabia Music Awards celebrates regional music scene

RIYADH: The Billboard Arabia Music Awards took place in Riyadh on Wednesday night to honor the most-streamed songs and popular artists in the region, including Palestinian Chilean singer Elyanna who is on a world tour with British rock band Coldplay.

Focusing on digital data from global music and video platforms while spotlighting Arabic music, the event attracted numerous celebrities and music enthusiasts, including Jara, billed as Saudi Arabia's first female rapper.

"Hala Walla! My name is Jara, and I’m thrilled to be at the inaugural Billboard Music Awards in Saudi Arabia. This moment is incredibly special to me, especially as I’m one of the nominees for Best Female Hip Hop Artist in the Middle East. Whether we win or not, I’m just so excited to be part of this celebration today." Jara told Arab News ahead of the ceremony.

The awards saw notable winners, including the Song of the Year award that went to “Tamer Ashour;” the Artist of the Year prize won by Sherine Abdulwahab; the Favorite Artist that was won by Amr Diab; the Best Khaliji Song prize that went to “Ayedh;” the Best Khaliji Artist award that went to Abdulmajeed Abdullah; the Best Khaliji Female Artist award won by Omaima Talib; the Best Egyptian Song nod that went to “Tamer Ashour;” the Best Levantine Song that was won by "Wain;" and the Best Female Artist from the Levant that went to Nancy Ajram. Meanwhile the Best Moroccan Song award went to Saad Al-Mujarrad’s "Guli Mata," and the Best Indie Artist nod that went to Cairokee.


Red Sea International Film Festival’s awards ceremony draws global cinema icons

Updated 12 December 2024
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Red Sea International Film Festival’s awards ceremony draws global cinema icons

  • The Golden Yusr Best Feature Film Award went to “Red Path” and the Best Director prize went to Lotfi Achour for “Red Path”
  • The Best Actor and Best Actress awards went to Mahmoud Bakri and Mariam Sherif, respectively

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival held its closing red carpet event and Yusr Awards ceremony on Thursday night.

Stars from Hollywood, Bollywood and beyond walked the red carpet at the festival’s new headquarters in Al-Balad in Jeddah.

Hollywood’s Sarah Jessica Parker walked the red carpet. (Getty Images)

The likes of British actor and filmmaker Dev Patel, British actor John Boyega and Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio were on the closing event’s red carpet, although the festival will continue its slate of screenings until Dec. 14.

Hollywood’s Sarah Jessica Parker also walked the red carpet as Bollywood-to-Hollywood crossover star Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her husband, musician Nick Jonas, posed for photographs alongside Mexican actress Eiza González.

Alessandra Ambrosio attends the Closing Night Red Carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival 2024 on December 12, 2024 in Jeddah. (Getty Images)

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee — known for films such as “Malcolm X” and “BlacKkKlansman” — presided over the features competition jury this year, which awarded the coveted Yusr Awards late on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Oscar-winning actress and producer Viola Davis and Chopra-Jonas were honored at the closing event.

Eiza González and Mohammed Al Turki attend the Closing Night Red Carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival 2024. (Getty Images)

Lee spoke to Arab News hours before the awards ceremony, saying the festival’s international slate of films impressed him.

Maria Bahrawi attends the Closing Night Red Carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival 2024 on December 12, 2024 in Jeddah. (Getty Images)

“It’s just great. The films (that) were curated for us (were) from a lot of the countries in the region. I like to show my students at (New York University) world cinema, because everything’s not Hollywood. And that is how you learn about a culture, the stories that they tell reflect the history and the herstory — you’ve got to say both now — of the world we live in.”

ulius Tennon and Viola Davis attend the Closing Night Red Carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival 2024. (Getty Images)

Lee kept tight lipped about the winners, saying: “The 16 films that were in competition, we had a lot of choices. So, we deliberated amongst my fellow jurors, it was hard to pick.”

Of the 14 awards up for grabs at the Yusr Awards ceremony, the Golden Yusr Best Feature Film Award went to “Red Path,” the Best Director prize went to Lotfi Achour for “Red Path” and the Jury Award was given to “Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo” by director Khaled Mansour.

The Best Actor and Best Actress awards went to Mahmoud Bakri and Mariam Sherif, respectively. Meanwhile the Golden Yusr Short Film prize went to “Hatch” by directors Alireza Kazemipour and Panta Mosleh and the Film AlUla Best Saudi Film Award went to “Hobal” by director Abdulaziz Alshlahei.  

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas attend the Closing Night Red Carpet. (Getty Images)

The festival, which is running under the theme “The New Home of Film” this year, featured 120 films from 81 countries at the new venue — previous ones were held at the city’s Ritz-Carlton hotel — where five purpose-built cinemas and a large auditorium hosted back-to-back screenings as well as “In Conversation” panels with celebrities.


Dev Patel (L), John Boyega (R) and guest in the Green Room on Closing Night on of the Red Sea International Film Festival 2024 on December 12, 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Getty Images)

Those talks proved to be the biggest draw of the festival, with leading Hollywood and Bollywood stars featured on the agenda. From Indian superstars Kareena Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor to Marvel actor Jeremy Renner and Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser, as well as Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, among others, this year’s bill was not short on star power.

Johnny Depp’s film “Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness” is the closing ceremony screening on Thursday night and Depp is expected to walk a separate red carpet before the screening.


Priyanka Chopra Jonas eyeing Bollywood return in 2025, crossover star says at RSIFF

Updated 12 December 2024
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Priyanka Chopra Jonas eyeing Bollywood return in 2025, crossover star says at RSIFF

  • Misses dancing and culture, she says at Red Sea film festival
  • Feels ‘fortunate’ to work in 2 of world’s largest film industries

JEDDAH: Bollywood fans can rest easy — Indian superstar and film producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas is not yet done with India’s film industry and is planning to return as soon as 2025.

“I’ve been seeking to do something again. It’s been almost six, seven years since I’ve done a movie back in India. I’m hoping next year … I’m very close,” Chopra Jonas told Arab News.

She was speaking on the sidelines of the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, where she was honored at the closing ceremony on Thursday.

“I like a couple of things very much. I’m really hoping next year I do an Indian movie, because I miss the dancing,” she said.

“I miss the language, I miss Indian culture. I miss working with the crew that I’ve grown up working with in the Indian film industry,” continued Chopra Jonas, who is married to American musician Nick Jonas.

“So I really never transitioned from Bollywood to Hollywood. The idea was always to balance both. I think I’m very fortunate to be one of the very few talents that can work in two of the largest film industries in the world. And I am very proud of that.”

Chopra Jonas is coming off a packed 2024 schedule where she completed filming on two massive projects, including Amazon Prime Video’s “Citadel” season two and the Hollywood swashbuckler action film “The Bluff,” co-starring Karl Urban.

The series “Citadel,” produced by “Avenger: Endgame” filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo, and also starring “Game of Thrones” actor Richard Madden, introduced two new international spin-off series this year, with two more in the works.

While “Citadel: Diana” is set in Italy, “Citadel: Hunny Bunny,” starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan, follows the lives of Chopra Jonas’ character Nadia Sinh’s parents.

“I think it’s the only show of its kind in the world to try to achieve that, which is having other original shows from local languages that are all connected. I don’t think that’s ever been achieved in entertainment.

“And it’s a really ambitious idea, and only, I guess, Amazon Prime Video could pull it off. I’ve worked with them a lot this year, and as a studio they just have really ambitious ideas, and I’ve had a great time working this year with them,” said Chopra Jonas.

She added: “The second season was really fun to film because we’ve now connected stories from our international shows as well. In the second season, we have a lot of new cast that’s come in.

“Joe Russo directed most of it himself, which was really cool, because he’s just incredibly talented when it comes to shooting something at that scale, but yet not losing the integrity of your characters. So that was really wonderful.

“I think this season is very grounded. It’s very about the characters and what is happening with each one of our stories, which I think people will find really, really interesting.”

Chopra Jonas also stars in the upcoming pirate flick “The Bluff,” from British indie filmmaker Frank E. Flowers. Apart from Chopra Jonas and Urban, the film also stars “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” actor Ismael Cruz Cordova.

“I mean, to play a female pirate is an incredible opportunity, and especially because female pirates actually existed. So, it was really wonderful for me to start doing research into the 1800s and 1700s and, you know, read about amazing, legendary female pirates like Grace O’Malley.

“And it was just really amazing to think that in the 1700s you have like women that were captains of pirate ships and did what we usually see men do,” she said.

“And then when I read the script, it’s a really grounded movie. So, it’s not like ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ where, you know, it’s like fun, but it’s like the serious version of what piracy actually was like, and pillaging.

“And so it’s a wonderful story about a woman trying to save her family from her past. I love that story. We shot it in Australia over three months. The story is based in the Cayman Islands, so we recreated that. And, yeah, I finished shooting that in August, and then I went into ‘Citadel’ season two.”

Chopra Jonas shot to fame in Bollywood in the early noughties and starred in several blockbusters including “Don 2” and the “Krrish” franchise before catching the eye of Hollywood casting directors, most notably with 2017’s “Baywatch” and 2021’s “The Matrix Resurrections.”


Review: First-time director Anderson .Paak brings humor and magic to RSIFF title ‘K-Pops’

Updated 12 December 2024
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Review: First-time director Anderson .Paak brings humor and magic to RSIFF title ‘K-Pops’

JEDDAH: Cinema can go overboard with emotional relationships, and this is where American singer and rapper Anderson .Paak’s Red Sea International Film Festival title “K-Pops” hits the right notes without sinking into a morose medley. Entertaining, with music that keeps the audience engaged, the film follows BJ, a washed-up drummer whose life turns around when he meets his teenage son for the first time.

.Paak himself plays the father, who is still holding out in middle age for rock’n’roll stardom while his real-life son Soul Rasheed plays the fictional Tae Young, whose mother Yeji is Korean.

The film was partially shot in Saudi Arabia's AlUla. (Supplied)

BJ gets an unexpected gig on a Korean talent show and discovers that Tae Young is a hotly-tipped contestant.

The movie travels beyond the Korean cultural scene by exploring the love life of its protagonist, who on a trip to Korea meets his old lover, Yeji (Jee Young Han), and learns that he has had a son by her. The two make up for lost time, and the scenes between them are handled subtly by .Paak – laudable for a debutant director who is also a multi-Grammy winner.  Eager to make up for lost parenting time, BJ becomes the boy’s mentor but as the film goes on, we realize the father needs to grow up alongside his son.

Partly shot in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla as part of a multi-film deal between Film AlUla and global media company Stampede Ventures, the work turns out to be endearingly personal and the ties between father and son are magical. Touchingly tender, it is an easy watch, in part because of the strong chemistry between all three lead stars. What is more, interracial complexities are woven into the plot, although I did feel that these could have been explored a little more — a somewhat understated screenplay could have been reason and more layered storytelling would have been welcome. However, the film's comedic touches make up for this and .Paak is mesmeric, especially when he gets the audience to laugh the loudest. Leisurely executed, the movie flows along like a lazy river that is a joy to ride.


Review: RSIFF title ‘Black Dog’ is an art house draw

Updated 12 December 2024
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Review: RSIFF title ‘Black Dog’ is an art house draw

JEDDAH: The winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May, Chinese drama “Black Dog” travelled to the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah and screened as part of the Festival Favorites program. Stark and suitably set in the barren landscape of the Chinese desert, the movie explores loneliness and exudes a sense of desperation. Director Guan Hu (known for “Mr Six,” “Run for Love,” “Cow”) follows a murder convict who leaves prison and lands a job as a dog catcher in a work that strongly reminded me of the celebrated Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano.

Lang (essayed by a grim Eddie Peng) is hired to trap strays in the Gobi Desert. But a man with a heart that melts, he watches in anguish as the canines are mistreated and decides to adopt one. Once a celebrity — a stunt motorcyclist, a great guitarist and the son of a bigwig — Lang’s incarceration sees him transformed into a completely different person that is wonderfully encapsulated by Peng.

Strictly for art house fans, “Black Dog” can be a hard watch for others and the starkness of a part of the country with its decay and hostile desert sands is far from the allure that we often associate with cinema. Hu does not seem to care as he tells us with brutal frankness how dozens of dogs (some suffering from fatal rabies) are hunted down with a huge net by catchers — the scenes can be revolting to some.

“Black Dog” relies on one too many contrived incidents that impede the narrative flow, but if you’re a fan of moody, almost allegorical films, this one is for you.