DUBAI: Six women from the Arab film industry have been jointly honored by the Red Sea International Film festival and Vanity Fair to “celebrate visionary female talent both on and behind the camera.”
At a gala event hosted alongside the 79th Venice International Film Festival at the Palazzo Rocca, the RSIFF and Vanity Fair first shone the spotlight on a trio of trailblazers from Saudi Arabia, including filmmaker (“Wadjda,” “Perfect Candidate”), award-winning actress and filmmaker Ahd Kamel (“Collateral,” “Honour”) and actress Sumaya Rida (“Rupture,” “Rashash”). They were joined by three Tunisian stalwarts: Oscar nominee Kaouther Ben Hania (“The Man Who Sold His Skin”), actress Hend Sabry (“Finding Ola,” “Noura’s Dream”) and Dorra Zarrouk (“Walls,” “Zombie Goes Zombie”).
Saudi Arabian filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour (right) with husband Brad Neimann. (Supplied)
About the recognition, Al-Mansour said: “I am incredibly honored to return to Venice Film Festival for the Women in Cinema Gala. I am very thankful to Vanity Fair for including me in this incredible event with all of these extraordinary women. Venice has been my ‘home’ festival since the launch of my first film ‘Wadjda’ here 10 years ago. I was overjoyed to return to Venice for my follow-up Saudi film, ‘The Perfect Candidate,’ and hope to return with another Saudi film very soon!”
The second edition of the RSIFF will run in Jeddah from Dec. 1-10, 2022.