Rabat – The Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF), in partnership with Vanity Fair Europe, held a closing gala in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on December 7 as part of its fifth annual Women In Cinema Dinner to celebrate women’s voices in film.

The event celebrated the accomplished women shaping the cinema business, both in front and behind the camera, and nurturing a new generation of talent in Saudi Arabia, Africa, and India.

Designed for film lovers, filmmakers, and the global film industry, RedSeaIFF is Saudi Arabia’s first international film festival, according to organizers.

The festival provided a venue for Arab filmmakers and international industry experts to network, held competitions for both short and feature films, and organized a series of events, master classes and seminars to support emerging talent.

Prominent stars including Nicolas Cage, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, and Andrew Garfield, attended the closing night event.

Read also: Marrakech International Film Festival Reveals Official Film Selection

Meanwhile, a few celebrities, including Oscar winner Halle Berry, spoke about their future endeavors at the occasion.

Berry discussed starting her own production company HalleHolly with former WME partner Holly Jeter at a masterclass during the event. She also described how she had a breakthrough thought on the plane journey to Jeddah.

“Finally on the plane coming here I saw a story, I saw what’s in my heart, and realized what I wanted to share,” she said.

She then talked about her anticipated film, stressing: “It’s a love story at its core, but it deals with the supernatural and time travel and the future. It’s taken me the last few years to figure this out.”

The MENA Premiere of Ferrari, the new Michael Mann biopic starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, capped off the Festival Awards night. 

“The Boy and the Heron,” the most recent film from Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, was screened as the public closing film.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Farhan Al Saud, founded the Red Sea Film Festival in 2018.

Every year, the festival boasts “ten days of film, new and old, encounter the makers, learn from the masters, be inspired by the best.”