Red Sea Fund Selects 33 Cinema Projects to Receive Funding

The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) is dedicated to developing the film industry in the region and in Saudi Arabia
The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) is dedicated to developing the film industry in the region and in Saudi Arabia
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Red Sea Fund Selects 33 Cinema Projects to Receive Funding

The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) is dedicated to developing the film industry in the region and in Saudi Arabia
The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) is dedicated to developing the film industry in the region and in Saudi Arabia

The Red Sea Fund has announced its selection of 33 promising projects from the Kingdom, the Arab region, and Africa to receive support and financial grants.

The selected projects, which are in development, are based on promising and creative ideas that cover a broad array of categories and narratives.

The projects shed light on the richness and diversity of storytelling in Saudi Arabia as well as in the wider region, including thought-provoking dramas, inspiring documentaries, and entertaining animated films.

The projects will play a role in advancing the cultural scene, enhancing communication, and increasing global understanding of Saudi Arabia, the Arab region, and Africa.

The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF), which supervises the fund, is dedicated to developing the film industry in the region and in Saudi Arabia, where filmmaking keeps evolving and thriving.

The RSIFF also works to deliver diverse cinematic voices and promote dialogue between cultures to ensure the continuation of filmmaking across the region and take the success of the region’s film industry to global levels.



Algerians Flee Wildfires in Country's Northeast

Civil Defense teams try to put out fires in Jijel last summer. (file photo/Civil Defense)
Civil Defense teams try to put out fires in Jijel last summer. (file photo/Civil Defense)
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Algerians Flee Wildfires in Country's Northeast

Civil Defense teams try to put out fires in Jijel last summer. (file photo/Civil Defense)
Civil Defense teams try to put out fires in Jijel last summer. (file photo/Civil Defense)

Algerian firefighters on Sunday were battling blazes in the northeastern Kabylie region as families were ordered to evacuate, local media and an AFP journalist said.

Residents were told to leave homes in the fire's path in Tizi Ouzou province, news site Ennahar Online reported quoting a forest official, though it was not immediately clear how many people were affected.

Numerous wildfires have broken out in Tizi Ouzou since Friday, though most of them have been brought under control or were expected to soon, said civil defence official Nassim Bernaoui.

"The situation is under control, but outbreaks of fire continue in hard-to-reach areas," he told AFP in the village of Ait Frah, south of Tizi Ouzou city.

The AFP journalist saw olive groves and fig orchards consumed by fires, as well as hen coops, beehives and some homes.

Authorities in Bejaia province, near Tizi Ouzou, ordered the evacuation of around 20 families from Mezouara village, which is located near a forest where blazes raged on Sunday.

Online videos showed a water bomber deployed to help contain the forest fire.

Wildfires are a common sight in summer in northern Algeria, increasingly exacerbated by drought and heatwaves scientists say are linked to climate change.

More than 30 people died in massive fires that ravaged Bejaia in July 2023, destroying thousands of acres of forests and agricultural lands as well as hundreds of homes.