How Red Sea Fund Is Revitalizing Arab Cinema: ‘I Want Our Films to Explore All Aspects of Life’

The Red Sea Fund —the financing arm of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Foundation —was created in 2019 to support emerging filmmakers and established talent from the Arab world and Africa. In the five years since, the fund has supported over 230 films from more than 40 countries, including Kaouther Ben Hania's Oscar-nominated "Four Daughters" and Saudi box office hit "Mandoob." Other films backed by the fund went on to premiere at the world's biggest festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Toronto.

"We just can't believe it. We've had so many achievements happen in such a short window of time," head of the Red Sea Fund Emad Eskander tells Variety. "When I first got the role in 2021, I remember writing one of the weakest visions anybody could write. I said: By 2027, we should have some form of presence at the Oscars. This year, seven of our films were shortlisted for best international film with 'Four Daughters' landing a nomination."

One thing Eskander was adamant on was that he wanted to be surrounded by fellow filmmakers in the selection panel, a strategy he believes has worked to the fund's advantage. "It makes us a very emotional team but also one that understands what is at stake," he says. "We go over project by project, discussing every detail."

The committee decides on grants that go from $25,000 to development projects to up to $500,000 for projects in production. Out of what Eskander is currently looking for, genre films and films with broader appeal stand out. "I want to remove the misconception that this fund is only for arthouse films. It's for good films and good stories, arthouse or commercial."

Asmae El Moudir, who won the Un Certain Regard best director award in 2023 for the Red Sea Fund-backed "The Mother of All Lies," said that working with a Middle East and North Africa fund "creates a sense of ownership and empowerment. It also brings a deeper understanding of the cultural context and the stories that need to be told, which is crucial for films like mine."

"Before the Red Sea Fund, filmmakers in the region would often turn to established platforms like the Doha Film Institute, AFAC and the Atlas Workshop for support," the director continues. "International co-productions or grants were also common paths. Having a regional fund like the Red Sea Film Fund offers a more targeted approach that deeply understands the cultural and narrative context of our films."

Other industry heads are also quick to recognize the effect of the presence of a hefty fund like Red Sea's in the region. Ahmed Shawky, the head of Egypt's CineGouna Funding and also part of the Red Sea Fund committee, said he believes the fund is "a big reason" for the increase in the number of projects he received at Gouna this year.

"The presence of the Red Sea Fund was a nice addition to the formula of co-production in the region. It's a generous fund that helped a lot of good Arab films in the last three years. I think we are all partially competing, but mainly complementing each other and helping projects off the ground."

After making their way to the Oscars in half the originally predicted timeline, what does Eskander still want to achieve with the Red Sea Fund? "I want to see a Saudi romance. I want the world to see that we fall in love," he says, going on to add that he would like to have themed funding cycles in the near future. "We are as human as anybody, so I want our films to explore all aspects of life."