Spike Lee will preside over the jury of the fourth edition of Saudi Arabia‘s Red Sea International Film Festival to be held December 5-14 in Jeddah.
Acclaimed American director Spike Lee has been named president of this year’s Red Sea International Film Festival. Lee won and Oscar for 2019’s BlacKkKlansman. His past movies include Malcolm X, Da 5 Bloods and Do The Right Thing. He most recently received the National Medal of Arts and Humanities from Joe Biden.
He will preside over the features competition jury which includes 16 films from the Mena region, Asia and Africa that have been selected from the past year. The winner receives the Golden Yusr Award for Best Feature Film which comes with a $100,000 prize split between the film’s director and producer. Lee will also participate in the festival’s conversation strand.
On the occasion of the announcement, Spike Lee commented:
“Having been lucky enough to experience first-hand the incredible filmmaking, atmosphere and creativity at the Red Sea International Film Festival in 2022, it’s a privilege to be returning this year as president of the jury. Alongside creating a melting pot for cultures to come together in celebration of our important art-form, it’s vital to continue to platform young and emerging filmmakers who are finding their voice in the industry, and it’s exciting to see first-time directors from across the Arab region, Asia and Africa as part of the competition lineup this year. I’m looking forward to diving in to the program and making what I’m sure will be some very tough decisions alongside the leading luminaries on the jury.”
Jomana Al Rashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation, added:
“Looking towards our fourth edition, we’re honoured to welcome the legendary Spike Lee as our President of Jury for the festival this year. Spike is a pioneering director whose iconic work has made a lasting impact on both film as a medium and culture at large. His energy, incisiveness and genuine championing of creativity and new voices makes him an ideal fit to lead our jury for this year – we look forward to him engaging with the burgeoning talent in our competition line up.”
More than 120 movies from 81 countries are set to screen.
Mohammed Asseri, the Red Sea Film Foundation’s acting chief executive, noted that there were more than 2,000 applications from all over the world, “which goes to show just how influential and far-reaching the festival has become in just four years”. According to Asseri, more than 50 per cent of the films at the fourth Red Sea festival will be exclusive premieres.
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