Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival kicked off its fourth edition with a starry opening ceremony on Thursday evening as it returned to the historic Al-Balad neighborhood of its home port city of Jeddah.
Among the stars hitting the red carpet were Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones as well as Spike Lee, who is the jury president this year, Eva Longoria, Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Erivo, Will Smith, Michelle Rodriguez and career honorees Vin Diesel, Emily Blunt and Aamir Khan.
As he received his career award, Diesel commented on the star wattage in the room: “There might be more familiar faces than some of the awards shows back in America. Am I crazy to say that? There are just so many great people here.”
Singling out Lee, The Fast & Furious star revealed how had worked as extra on the director’s movies in the 1980s. “When I saw Spike, I would try to run because if anyone sees you as an extra, you’ll always be an extra. I was doing extra work on his movies and hiding,” he recalled.
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“I never knew that,” Lee shouted up from the floor.
Lee noted in his speech that this was his third time in Saudi Arabia, having previously attended the festival in 2022 and also shot part of his 1992 Oscar-nominated film Malcolm X in Mecca.
He described being asked to be jury president as one of those blessings that come out of nowhere.
“This definitely goes in that category. When I got the call that [they] wanted me to be president of the jury, it didn’t take me too long to answer, I said, ‘Hell yeah’,” he recounted.
The return to Al-Balad marks a milestone for the festival with its parent body permanent headquarters in the neighbourhood.
The festival has taken place in Jeddah’s chateau like Ritz Carlton over the past two years, but most guests were happy to be back in Al-Balad, which hosted the festival in its inaugural year, and has been considerably spruced up since.
“Today as we celebrate the Red Sea Foundation’s return to Al Balad with our stunning new headquarters, we stand inspired by the heritage, and humbled by the history for this is more than just a name, it’s a transformative space where a new film culture is taking root,” said Jomana Al Rashid, Chairwoman of the event’s parent body, the Red Sea Film Foundation,
Running from December 5 to 14, the festival opened with Egyptian director Karim Shenawy’s feel-good drama The Tale Of Daye’s Family (aka Light), and will showcase some 120 features and shorts from 81 territories over the course of the coming nine days.
The post Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Vin Diesel, Spike Lee, Will Smith, Eva Longoria, Michelle Yeoh & Cynthia Erivo Hit Carpet At Red Sea Film Fest appeared first on Deadline.
