Diane Kruger, Ranveer Singh to Be Honored at Red Sea Film Festival

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has unveiled the jury members and honorees of its third edition, which kicks off on Thursday in the port city of Jeddah.

Baz Luhrmann, who was previously announced as the president of the jury for the main feature film competition, will be joined by Joel Kinnaman, Freida Pinto, Amina Khalil, and Paz Vega.

The Red Sea: Shorts competition will be judged by leading Saudi writer, director and film critic Hana Alomair, French-Moroccan Call My Agent! star Assad Bouab and award-winning Turkish-German film director, screenwriter and producer Fatih Akin.

“We have a cohort of immense talent in this year’s jury, representing some of the leading creators of cinema from all corners of the world – and we are thrilled to have them join us in Jeddah to participate in this year’s competition,” said Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea Film Foundation.

The festival has also announced German actress Diane Kruger, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and Saudi actor-writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan as the honorees of its third edition.

“This year we are honouring Ranveer Singh, an icon of Hindi cinema; Diane Kruger, who has delivered us a series of unforgettable characters from Helen of Troy to Tarantino’s Bridget von Hammersmark and affected us with her powerhouse performance of the avenging Angel Katja in Fatih Akin’s In the Fade,” said Mohammed Al-Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation.

Al-Turki also welcomed the tribute to the Saudi Arabia’s “hugely beloved” Al-Sadhan, who is a household name at home for his lead role in the long-running comedy series "Tash ma Tash" and also appears in Competition title "Norah".

“We are thrilled to be recognising each of their varied and deep contributions to cinema and to have them with us for our third edition,” said Al Turki.

The Red Sea International Film Festival is held from November 30 to December 9.