Maha Haj, Mohamed Kordofani projects scoop Red Sea Souk awards

Upcoming films by Palestinian director Maha Haj and Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani were among the big winners at the Red Sea Souk project market in Saudi Arabia today (December 10).

The industry platform, which runs alongside Red Sea International Film Festival, concluded with a closing ceremony in Jeddah that included 10 jury awards alongside several cash and in-kind awards. The prizes are worth a total of around $700,000.

Scroll down for full list of winners

The Red Sea Souk Production Award of $80,000 went to Haj’s Playhouse, which also won the Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) award; the latter includes a production grant of $50,000.

The Palestine-Germany-France-Cyprus project is the story of a young Palestinian who hides in his ancestral home in Jaffa, “determined to reclaim a legacy erased by exile and loss”. The producer is Thanassis Karathanos.

It marks Haj’s third feature after 2016’s Personal Affairs and 2022’s Mediterranean Fever, both of which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. The latter won a best screenplay award at Cannes and was Palestine’s 2023 Oscar entry.

Kordofani, who broke out internationally in 2023 when Goodbye Julia became the first Sudanese film ever to play in Cannes, picked up a hat-trick of prizes with his upcoming film, About Love And September Laws.

The project was awarded the Red Sea Souk development prize of $25,000; the Leyth Production in-kind award for editing worth $50,000; and the Shift Studios award, which includes a promotion package worth $12,000.

Set in 1983 Sudan as Sharia Law is enforced, it follows a doctor, a translator and an African American journalist who become entangled amid political upheaval. It is a Sudan-France-Germany-Sweden production, which is produced by Kordofani alongside Khalid Awad.

Also securing three awards was Saudi project Dhel by Dania Altayeb. It picked up an ART production grant of $50,000; the DTS in-kind award, consisting of sound post-production worth the equivalent of $30,000; and the Arab Cinema Center award, which will provide support for producer Fahd Samman to attend International Film Festival Rotterdam Producers Lab 2026.

The project, developed with Red Sea Labs, follows a young Saudi artist haunted by her father’s legacy who joins an isolated art residency in AlUla. There she discovers a cursed paintbrush that awakens a ghostly muse, forcing her to confront the darkness she has inherited before it consumes her completely.

Some 40 films and series took part in the project market.

Reflecting on this year’s industry platform, Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “The Souk has been a growing force in the global film market with almost double the attendance from 2024, welcoming 166 exhibitors across 90 stands for this year’s edition.”

Shivani Pandya Malhotra, managing director of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “This year’s winners highlight some of the most exciting and innovative voices from the Arab world, Africa and Asia that are defining the future of cinema in these regions.”

Zain Duraie’s Sink and Cyril Aris’s A Sad And Beautiful World were previously supported by the Souk and are playing in this year’s main features competition at RSIFF. The festival winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony tomorrow (December 11).

Red Sea Souk 2025 winners

Arab Cinema Center (ACC)
One supported place for an Arab producer on the International Film Festival Rotterdam Producers Lab 2026
Fahd Samman, prod. Dhel

Arab Radio and Television Network (ART)
2 x ART award for one Saudi project with a production grant $50,000 for a project in development or production
A Noble Departure
Dhel

ART Award for one Arab project with a production grant $50,000 for a project in development or production
Playhouse, dir. Maha Haj

Blue Bee Productions Award for one project with an amount of $10,000
Positive, dir. Hanaa Saleh Alfassi

CNC Award for one project with an amount of €10,000 ($11,600)
The Daughter, dir. Tian Guan

DTS in-kind award consisting of sound post-production worth the equivalent of $30,000
Dhel, dir. Dania Altayeb 

Filmmore in-kind award consisting of a full digital intermediate for a feature film worth $32,500
Ben’imana, dir. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo 

Freshly Ground Stories & Fineprint
Two in-kind awards of professional business and legal support worth $5,000
To Catch A Falling Sky, dir. Cheta Chukwu
Philax, dir. Ruken Tekes 

Habbar cash $10,000 plus in-kind award worth $40,000 for marketing services
Green Corpse, dir. Khalid Zidan 

Ithra cash award of 50,000 SAR ($13,333) for a Saudi project
Green Corpse, dir. Khalid Zidan 

Leyth Production in-kind award for editing worth $50,000
About Love And September Laws, dir. Mohamed Kordofani

Easy Distribution in-kind award for Film distribution in Tunisia equivalent to $10,000
The Prodigal Son, Rani Massalha

MAD Solutions in-kind award worth $50,000 as MG dedicated to world sales rights
Infidels, dir. Eli Jean Tahchi

Oticons: one in-kind award worth $10,000 consisting of music consulting services
Ria, dir. Arvin Belarmino

Shift Studios awards for a promotion package worth $12,000
A Noble Departure, dir. Dahlia Baeshen
About Love & September Laws, dir. Mohamed Kordofani

Shift Studios award consisting of a full DCP package worth $8,000
Positive, dir. Hanaa Saleh Alfassi

Works in Progress Awards

Red Sea Souk post-production jury special mention award with a grant of $15,000
Yesterday The Eye Didn’t Sleep, dir. Rakan Mayasi

Red Sea Souk post-production award with a grant of $40,000
Ben’imana, dir. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo

Series Awards

Two $10,000 awards

Money Town, dir.Tony Koros
Side Effects, dir. Hind Metwalli

Red Sea Souk Projects in Development Awards

Jury special mention award ($15,000)
To Catch A Falling Sky, dir. Cheta Chukwu

Breakthrough award (for a debut director) ($20,000)
Cold Ashes Can Cause Forest Fires, dir. Ashmita Guha Neosi

Development award ($25,000)
Price Of Evil, dir. Ibrahim Mursal

Development award ($25,000)
About Love And September Laws, dir. Mohamed Kordofani

Production award ($50,000)
Fiction, dir. Anocha Suwichakornpong

Production award ($80,000)
Playhouse, dir. Maha Haj

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