One of the programs that makes Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) so unique amidst a long list of similar international events is its Red Sea Souk and its Project Market. Much like the American Film Market, European Film Market or the Marché du Film, the Souk has been scheduled to run in tandem with a festival as a commercial market where producers, distributors and industry professionals can discover upcoming talent and new projects specifically within the Arab and Saudi markets.

What makes the Souk stand out even more is that it hands out Work-In-Progress awards to regional projects that are in various stages of completion, thus helping spur a growing film industry all the more with attention and financing. In its third iteration, the Red Sea Souk honored 24 new film projects, 12 of which are from African and Arab filmmaker and 12 of which are being developed through the in-house Red Sea Lodge program.

The big winners at this this year’s Souk would have to be “The Return of the Prodigal Son” from director Rani Massalha which won the top Project Market Award worth USD $100,000 and “By Hasnaa’s Side” by Saudi filmmaker Amaal Youssif, which walked away with three prestigious prizes.

“The Return of the Prodigal Son” focuses on the story of a pig farmer in Egypt during the outbreak of the 2009 swine flu which caused the government to order the slaughter of all pigs. The farmer is Copt, a minority, often persecuted Christian sect in Egypt, allowing the film to include some social commentary. Massalha describes his film as an “intimate thriller” that depicts the ingrained violence between Egypt’s interwoven communities. “The Return of the Prodigal Son” is his second directorial effort and is a co-production between Egypt, France and Tunisia.

“By Hasnaa’s Side” tells the story of an 11-year-old girl who escapes on her wedding night in the truck of a farmer who befriends her. Youssif’s film, which is being produced by Wildflower Films, is currently in development and has already received support from the Doha Film Institute in Qatar. It won one of four Red Sea Lodge project awards worth USD $50,000 each. The Arabic-language “By Hasnaa’s Side” was also one of two winners of the Arab Cinema Center prize, securing it a slot at the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Producers Lab.

In opening the awards ceremony, which took place on 5 December, Shivani Pandya, the Managing Director of RSIFF announced that there was a 30% rise in attendance at the Red Sea Souk over 2022 with participants from 30 countries. Given the overflow crowd at the awards ceremony, this quite believable. “The Souk is the beating heart of this festival in that it is the genesis of so many projects, and is the culmination of everything the foundation does throughout the year and has been growing year on year since our inception in 2021,” said Pandya.

The Red Sea Souk awarded nearly USD $900,000 in funding and services from the Red Sea Fund and various partners. Five the projects being honored were Saudi, eleven were from the Arab region and eight were African.

The following is a complete list of 2023 Red Sea Souk award winners:

Arab Cinema Center Awards

• Saudi Winner – Ghaidaa Abuazzah, for “By Hasnaa’s Side”
• Arab Winner – Fatma Racha Shehadeh, for “The Girl And Missing Bed”

MAD Solutions Award

• “Nostalgia: A Life In First Chapters” by Ameer Fakher Eldin

Oticons Award

• “Men In The Sun” by Mahdi Fleifel

Shift Studios Awards

• “Rising Up At Night” by Nelson Makengo
• “My Semba” by Hugo Salvaterra
• “Men In The Sun” by Mahdi Fleifel

Titrafilm Award

• Emma Benestan for Animale

Arab Radio & Television Network (ART) Awards

• Saudi Winner – “The Night Whisperer” by Lina Mahmoud
• Arab Winner – “Love Conquers All” by Danielle Arbid

CineWaves Films Award

• “Mecca, Berlin” by Majtaba Saeed

Ithra Award

• “The Night Whisperer” by Lina Mahmoud

MBC Academy/Shahid Awards

• “In The Beginning, It Is The End” by Ghadeer Binabbas
• “By Hasnaa’s Side” by Amaal Youssif
• “Madness And Honey Days” by Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji

Serieslab Awards

• “Eye Of The Kite” by Saleh Al-Hamad
• “Our Son Is Prettier” by Hanaa Saleh Alfassi

WIP Awards

• “My Semba” by Hugo Salvaterra
• “Yunan” by Ameer Fakher Eldin

Red Sea Lodge Awards

• “By Hasnaa’s Side” by Amaal Youssif
• “Fantastic Tale” by Vincho Nchogu
• “Black Snake” by Naishe Nyamubaya
• “My Father Killed Bourghiba” by Fatma Riahi

PM Awards

• Red Sea Souk Jury Special Mention – “Love Conquers All” by Danielle Arbid
• Red Sea Souk Development Award – “When I Close My Eyes, I See Your Eyes” by Sameh Alaa
• Red Sea Souk Production Award – “The Return Of The Prodigal Son” by Rani Massalha