Red Sea International Film Festival launches 48-hour filmmaking challenge chaired by Hend Sabry

The project aims to encourage Saudi Arabia's young filmmakers to produce new work

Tunisian actress Hend Sabry has the talent and stature to play Cleopatra. Epa

The Red Sea International Film Festival is inviting aspiring filmmakers in Saudi Arabia to apply for a 48-hour challenge this month that encourages young creatives to produce new work.

Selected applicants, who must be between the ages of 18 and 25, will have access to three days of technical workshops and mentoring – between Thursday, October 22, and Saturday, October 24 – ahead of the challenge.

Work will be selected by an award-winning jury, headed by Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, alongside Belgian film director Lisa Sallustio, French film director Brice Cauvin, Saudi Arabian director Faiza Saleh Ambah, and director Mohammed al Hamoud.

Teams, made up of no more than five members, will produce and shoot an original short film between three to six minutes long in two days.

Films must be shot at the team's expense and explore at least one of the following themes: de-coding, playing, creating or thinking.

After screenings in November, two teams will win a 2021 filmmaking residence at La Femis, a film and television school in Paris. While Saudi residents are invited to apply, team leaders – either screenwriters or directors – have to be Saudi nationals.

The event is a collaboration between the Alliance Francaise, the Consulate General of France in Jeddah, the French Embassy in Riyadh, the Red Sea International Film Festival and La Femis.

More information is available at redseafilmfest.com