JEDDAH: The Red Sea Souk returned for the second Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah on Saturday.
The four-day souk will be packed with pitching sessions, meetings, screenings, industry talks and networking events.
Last year鈥檚 souk had more than 3,500 accredited industry professionals and organizers, with executives from 46 countries. This year is expected to have an even bigger number of people making it happen.
Zain Zedan, souk manager at the festival, said: 鈥淚鈥檝e been working with the RSIFF since 2019. It has been a great pleasure to see the growth of the festival over the years, and where it鈥檚 leading, and the number of great films we鈥檙e having year by year, and the projects we鈥檙e supporting and funding.鈥
In the souk鈥檚 exhibitors鈥 area, the number of companies has more than doubled since last year, from 19 to 43 from nine countries.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always trying to expand and bring an international presence 鈥 whether it鈥檚 from Africa, Arab regions or Europe,鈥 said Zedan.
鈥淪ince it鈥檚 an international festival, we鈥檙e always trying to welcome everyone and show them the abundance of potential we have in the region.鈥
Referring to a challenge earlier this year whereby people created short films in 48 hours, Zedan said: 鈥淭hey produced them in such a short time and the results were amazing. Two of the films were selected to be part of the RSIFF. So we鈥檙e supporting people in different ways, any way we can.鈥
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