New Projects by ‘The Mother of All Lies’ and ‘Hiding Saddam Hussein’ Directors Amongst Winners of the Fourth Edition of Red Sea Souk

Rafa Sales Ross

11 December 2024 at 3:46 pm·7-min read

The fourth edition of the Red Sea Souk, the market arm of the Red Sea Film Foundation, came to a wrap on Wednesday afternoon after five days of activities nested within the dates of the Red Sea Film Festival. Winners include “The Mother of All Lies” director Asmae El Moudir with “Holy Cow” and “Hiding Saddam Hussein” director Halkawt Mustafa with “Farouk.”

“We are concluding a very successful market and I am confident that in the near future we will be hearing several collaborations and deals germinated from the Souk,” said the managing director of the Red Sea Film Foundation Shivani Pandya Malhotra during the ceremony.

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“The foundation would like to be the ultimate platform for the underserved regions such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East,” Malhotra continued. “This region represents two-thirds of the global population and 35% of the world’s box office. It is our endeavor to help increase and give visibility to content from this part of the world to reflect the proportion of the population.”

Director of the Red Sea Souk Holly Daniel, who helmed her first edition in the post, said that this year’s Souk Project market had a “record number of meeting requests for the projects in the selection, which reflects the high caliber and potential of the teams taking part.”

The largest cash prizes were handed out to Katia Jarjoura’s “Robbing Beirut,” which took the $75,000 Red Sea Souk Production Award; Lydia Matata’s “Pepo Kali,” which took the $50,000 Red Sea Labs Production Award for a Red Sea Lodge project and Mahamed Al’Omda’s “Blue Card,” winner of the Red Sea Labs Production Award for a Red Sea Lodge project prize worth $70,000.

El Moudir’s “Holy Cow” took awards from Freshly Ground Stories, the Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) and the CNC, while “Farouk” won the Impronta Films award worth $10,000.

In just four years, the Red Sea Souk has become the largest film market in the Arab world. This year, the Souk opened to projects from Asia for the first time, with a whopping 28% of total submissions coming from the country. On top of industry activities, the Souk featured 142 exhibitors from 32 countries and welcomed names such as Andrew Garfield, Dev Patel, John Boyega and Marisa Tomei for a series of conversations with participating talent.

Full list of winners below:

Arab Cinema Center (ACC)

Two supported places on the International Film Festival Rotterdam Producers Lab

Awarded by ACC

Saudi Winner: “Do Re Mimi”

Producer: Jawaher Alamri

Arab Winner: “It’s Okay, I’m Only Human”

Producer: Christelle Younes

Filmmore

One in-kind award for a works-in-progress film consisting of a full digital intermediate worth $32,500

Awarded by Filmmore

Winner: “Fuxi”

Director: Qiu JiongJiong

Freshly Ground Stories

Two in-kind awards of professional business and legal support for a project, up to 12 months in any stage of the production cycle, each worth $5,000.

Awarded by Freshly Ground Stories

Winner: “Holy Cow”

Director: Asmae El Moudir

Winner:

“Assa, A Fish in a Bowl”

Director: Dahlia Nemlich

Impronta Films

One in-kind award for a documentary project of consultancy sessions over 12-months, worth $10,000.

Awarded by Impronta Films

Winner: “Farouk”

Director: Halkawt Mustafa

Oticons

One in-kind award for a work-in-progress film consisting of in-kind music consulting services worth $10,000

Awarded by Oticons

Winner: “Fuxi”

Director: Qiu JiongJiong

Shift Studios

Shift Studios awards for a promotion package worth $12,000

Two Awards

Awarded by Shift Studios

Winner: “I Didn’t Sign Up for This.”

Director: Lana Komsany.

Winner: “Do-Re-Mimi”

Director: Fatima Albanawi

Shift Studios award consisting of a full DCP package worth $8,000

Winner: “Blue Card”

Director: Mohamed Al’Omda

TITRAFILM

In-kind award for a work-in-progress film worth $10,000

Awarded by TITRAFILM

Winner: “Allah Is Not Obliged”

Directed by Zaven Najjar

Arab Radio and Television Network (ART)

$50,000 ART grant for one Saudi project in development or production

Awarded by ART

Winner: “I Didn’t Sign Up for This”

Director: Lana Komsany

$50,000 ART Award for one Arab Project in development or production

Awarded by ART

Winner: “Holy Cow”

Director: Asmae El Moudir

MAD Solutions

$50,000 to a project in development, in production or in post production.

Awarded by MAD

Winner: “Do Re Mimi”

Director: Fatima Albanawi

MBC Academy/Shahid

$40,000 MBC Academy /Shahid Award for a Saudi project in development

Awarded by MBC

Winner: “Hadd”

Director: Jamal Kutbi

Two $20,000 MBC Academy/Shahid Awards for a project in development or production or post-production

Awarded by MBC

Winner: “Close Rose Close”

Director: Rulan Hasan

Winner: “Blue Card”

Director: Mohamed Al’Omda

Ambient Light

As Ambient Light – one cash award of $10,000 for a project in development

Winner: “It’s Okay, I’m Only Human”

Directed by Karim Ghorayeb and George Barbari

As A2J – one in-kind award with a value of $10,000 for post-production services to a works-in-progress project

Awarded by Ambient Light

Winner: “A Winner Is Seen at the Start”

Directed by Zhannat AlShanova.

Rotana Studios

One cash and three in-kind awards consisting of:

$50,000 cash award for an Arab film

Awarded by Rotana Studios

Winner: “Close Close Close”

Director: Rulan Hasan

Two in-kind awards valued at $50,000 each in the form of distribution fees waiver for two Arab projects to be distributed by Rotana Studios

Awarded by Rotana Studios

Winner: “Blue Card”

Director: Mohamed Al’Omda

Winner: “Close Close Close”

Director: Rulan Hasan

One in-kind award valued at $25,000 in the form of free inclusion in content development lab Rotana-Sard for six months for a Saudi project

Awarded by Rotana Studios

Winner: “Do Re Mimi”

Director: Fatima Albanawi

Best Media Production

Best Media Production Award for one project in development or production with an amount of $10,000

Awarded by Best Media Production

Winner: “It’s Okay, I’m Only Human”

Directors: Karim Ghorayeb, George Peter Barbari

CNC

CNC Award for one project with an amount of €8,000 ($8,500 equivalent)

Awarded by the Red Sea Souk projects in development jury

Winner: “Holy Cow”

Director: Asmae El Moudir

Ithra

50,000 SAR ($13,333) Ithra award for one Saudi project in production or post-production

Awarded by Ithra

Winner: “Hadd”

Director: Jamal Kutbi

Red Sea Souk Works in Progress Awards:

Red Sea Souk post-production jury special mention award with a grant of $15,000

Awarded by Red Sea Souk WIP jury

Winner: “Fuxi”

Director: Qiu JiongJiong

Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award with a grant of $40,000

Awarded by Red Sea Souk WIP Jury

Winner: “Guria”

Director: Levan Koguashvili

Red Sea Labs Awards:

Two $5,000 Red Sea Labs SeriesLab Awards

Awarded by Red Sea Souk SeriesLab Jury

First winner: “Cold Case One” ($5,000) written by Nithin Lukose and Hari Kirishnan

Second winner: “Generation A” ($5,000) written by Mona Ombogo

One $10,000 Red Sea Labs SeriesLab Award

Awarded by Red Sea Souk SeriesLab Jury

Winner: “Saria Othman Needs No Man” ($10,000) written by Estephan Khattar

$20,000 Red Sea Labs Jury special mention award for a Red Sea Lodge project