Saudi Film 'Noura' Screened at Cannes Film Festival

A person walks past the Cannes film festival logo during preparations for the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 13, 2024. The Cannes film festival runs from May 14 until May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
A person walks past the Cannes film festival logo during preparations for the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 13, 2024. The Cannes film festival runs from May 14 until May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
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Saudi Film 'Noura' Screened at Cannes Film Festival

A person walks past the Cannes film festival logo during preparations for the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 13, 2024. The Cannes film festival runs from May 14 until May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
A person walks past the Cannes film festival logo during preparations for the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 13, 2024. The Cannes film festival runs from May 14 until May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

The Red Sea Fund of the Red Sea Film Foundation screened the Saudi film “Noura” at the Un Certain Regard, “a certain look,” section of the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival, making it the first Saudi film to be on the official list of the world's most prestigious film gathering, SPA reported.

Noura was supported by the Red Sea Fund and was filmed entirely in the city of art and history, AlUla, located in the northwest of the Kingdom, with 40% of its crew being Saudis, demonstrating the great support that the film industry enjoys.
The film, which has received international distribution, is scheduled to premiere in Saudi and international theaters on June 20, 2024.



Gena Rowlands Has Alzheimer’s, Her Son Nick Cassavetes Says

Gena Rowlands. (AFP/Getty Images)
Gena Rowlands. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Gena Rowlands Has Alzheimer’s, Her Son Nick Cassavetes Says

Gena Rowlands. (AFP/Getty Images)
Gena Rowlands. (AFP/Getty Images)

The celebrated actor and honorary Academy Award recipient Gena Rowlands is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, her son, the filmmaker Nick Cassavetes, has revealed.

Cassavetes, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published Tuesday, said Rowlands has had Alzheimer's for five years. In the 2004 film "The Notebook," Cassavetes directed his mother, who played the older version of the character played by Rachel McAdams, as a woman with dementia.

"We spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer’s and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she’s had Alzheimer’s," Cassavetes said. "She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us."

A representative for Rowlands confirmed that Cassavetes "speaks for the family."

Rowlands, who received an honorary Oscar in 2015, made 10 films with her husband, John Cassavetes, including 1974's "A Woman Under the Influence" and 1980's "Gloria." She was Oscar nominated for both performances. She also won four Emmy awards. Her last credited performance was the 2014 comedy "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks."

Rowlands's mother, actor Lady Rowlands, also had Alzheimer's. During the making of "The Notebook," Gena Rowlands said she channeled her mother.

"I went through that with my mother, and if Nick hadn’t directed the film, I don’t think I would have gone for it — it’s just too hard," Rowlands told O magazine in 2004. "It was a tough but wonderful movie."