Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival to Honor Laila Elwy

Renowned Egyptian actress, Laila Elwy will be honored at the inaugural edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival, which will take place from December 6-15 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In celebration of the role of women in the entertainment industry, the festival will also honor Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour.

Veteran Egyptian actress Yousra is also set to also deliver a masterclass while Catherine Deneuve is due to join the festival celebrations.

[caption id="attachment_244842" align="aligncenter" width="673"] Yousra[/caption]

Haifaa Al-Mansour, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, and Franco-Argentinian director Gaspar Noé will take par part in discussions providing insight into their career.

The festival will also honor former French Culture Minister Jack Lang who is President of Paris’ Institut du Monde Arabe.

The inaugural edition features 138 titles from 67 countries and will open with MGM’s Joe Wright-directed musical romance Cyrano.

The movie was previously played Telluride and Rome among others and was released domestically on December 31.

Closing the Red Sea festival is the world premiere of Egyptian director Amr Salama’s "Bara El Manhag".

Sixteen movies will run in the competition which is focused on films from Asia, Africa, and the Arab world. They will vie for the Golden Yusr Award as well as in inpidual directing, acting, and writing categories.