“We engaged in a very open discussion, and to be honest we are artists. This festival is for artists; it’s backed by artists. It’s some sort of national dream [for us] to have this festival. We know that we come from the grassroots. This makes us really strong. When we make a case for coming to our festival, people see that we come from their world. They can relate. And to be honest, the result is beyond phenomenal.”
-Mahmoud Sabbagh, Saudi Arabian film director and president of Saudi’s Red Sea International Film Festival, the kingdom’s first full-fledged festival and market. The ambitious event will run March 12-21 in Jeddah. [variety.com]
