Viola Davis to Be Honored by Red Sea Film Festival as Lineup Is Unveiled, Including Johnny Depp’s ‘Modi’ and Robbie Williams Biopic ‘Better Man’
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Viola Davis will be honored by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival, where the Oscar winner and four-time nominee will also be holding a master class highlighting her career.
On Monday, the festival — which will run Dec. 6 to 14 in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore — announced the main lineup of its fourth edition, which will open with the world premiere of Egyptian director Karim Shenawy’s musical drama “The Tale of Daye’s Family.” The film follows an 11-year-old Nubian albino with a beautiful voice “who faces adversity due to his unique appearance,” as the provided synopsis puts it. “For us, this a perfect representation of where this region is headed and what’s happening here,” said the fest’s general manager Shivani Pandya Malhotra at a press conference, noting that the inspirational film is a co-production between Egypt and Saudi.
The Red Sea fest – which is putting the accent on Saudi and regional cinema this year – will also be honoring Egyptian star Mona Zaki, who toplines Egyptian female empowerment thriller “Flight 404” in which she plays a woman whose tainted past resurfaces as she is about to embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
As for the rest of this year’s selection, roughly half the films are either world or international premieres spanning 80 countries.
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