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Red Sea International Film Festival Attracts Major Talent

Red Sea International Film Festival Attracts Major Talent
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Red Sea International Film Festival Attracts Major Talent

Red Sea International Film Festival Attracts Major Talent

One of the Middle East’s fastest-growing film festivals opened Thursday in Saudi Arabia, attracting filmmakers and stars from around the world, to present over 120 films from 81 countries in Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district.

The Red Sea International Film Festival, now in its fourth year, offers a vibrant lineup featuring a mix of world premieres and acclaimed international films.

Since its launch in 2021, the festival has attracted major global talent. This year, the event will welcome Academy Award winners Viola Davis and Spike Lee, alongside Bollywood icons Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, strengthening its growing reputation on the international film circuit.

The festival opens with “The Tale of Daye’s Family” — a drama from Egyptian director Karim Shenawy that follows a Nubian boy’s perilous journey to audition for “The Voice.”

“I’m more excited than I am worried, because this film wouldn’t have happened without the efforts of so many people, all of whom are here with us. They feel that this is their film,” said Shenawy on opening night.

“I hope that the film will be an example of the kind of cooperation between Egypt and Saudi Arabia to produce nice cinema that has value at festivals and is widely accepted by the public. I think that this is a film that people will watch and love,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.

American actress Michelle Rodriguez, also attending the festival, shared her thoughts on being in Saudi Arabia. “Aside of the vast history, I like the deep sense of identity, and I think it’s very rare for people in a country to just have a very similar united point of view. And I think that that’s quite beautiful,” she said.

The Features Competition will present 16 movies highlighting works from filmmakers across the Arab region, Asia, and Africa. Winners will be selected by a jury, led by Lee, awarding the Yusr Awards.

“I’m here to see and judge 16 films. This is not a vacation,” said Lee on the red carpet.
The movies in competition include Lotfi Achour’s “Red Path,” featured at the Locarno Film Festival, and Mehdi M. Barsaoui’s “Aïcha,” a Venice Film Festival selection. Also competing is Reema Kagti’s “Superboys of Malegaon,” an Indian film about an amateur filmmaker’s dream in the small town of Malegaon.

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Varieties

Mounted New York Police Officer and His Horse Corner Suspected Purse Snatcher in Manhattan

A view shows the downtown Manhattan skyline in New York City, US, July 22, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows the downtown Manhattan skyline in New York City, US, July 22, 2025. (Reuters)
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Mounted New York Police Officer and His Horse Corner Suspected Purse Snatcher in Manhattan

A view shows the downtown Manhattan skyline in New York City, US, July 22, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows the downtown Manhattan skyline in New York City, US, July 22, 2025. (Reuters)

A New York City police officer on horseback nabbed a suspected purse snatcher after chasing her through the streets of Manhattan at full gallop — a wild scene evoking the clip-clopping past of a city where lights, sirens and squad cars are the norm.

The late Wednesday morning pursuit began when the victim reported the theft. The officer — whose name has not been released — and his horse quickly took up the chase that was captured on his bodycam and also by a television news crew that happened to be in the area for an unrelated story.

The officer repeatedly screamed at the suspect to stop running, but she refused while denying she had taken the purse.

The brief hoof chase went along sidewalks, under scaffolding, between parked cars and across streets before the woman was stopped by a pedestrian and then detained by the officer.

The woman was charged with larceny and providing false information. Authorities said she had been convicted of murder in the April 2000 fatal shooting of a cab driver and had served time in prison before being released. She is currently on lifetime parole.

No injuries were reported in the chase.

Varieties

Back on Earth, Artemis II Crew Still Finding their Footing

HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen speak during a press conference at the NASA Johnson Space Center on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Danielle Villasana/Getty Images/AFP
HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen speak during a press conference at the NASA Johnson Space Center on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Danielle Villasana/Getty Images/AFP
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Back on Earth, Artemis II Crew Still Finding their Footing

HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen speak during a press conference at the NASA Johnson Space Center on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Danielle Villasana/Getty Images/AFP
HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen speak during a press conference at the NASA Johnson Space Center on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Danielle Villasana/Getty Images/AFP

Nearly a week after their Pacific splashdown, the astronauts who crewed the Artemis II mission that flew around the Moon told reporters Thursday they have yet to fully grasp the magnitude of the moment.

"It's been a week of medical testing, physical testing, doctors, science objectives," mission commander Reid Wiseman said during a press conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"We have not had that decompression," he added.

The 50-year-old led fellow Americans Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian crewmate Jeremy Hansen, on a mission that took them farther into space than anyone has ever gone before.

Adjusting to life on Earth is taking a beat, AFP reported.

"Tomorrow will be one week, and I just was trying to live in a little hole for one week, been off social media, not on the news. So, no, I don't know," Glover, who piloted the mission, told reporters.

Nonetheless, he said his children and neighbors have clued him in to the excitement.

Artemis II was the first crewed mission to venture to the Moon's orbit since 1972, and the only one in history to include a woman, or a Black astronaut, or a non-American. Their voyage was broadcast live by US space agency NASA, and the media coverage of the launch and return to Earth was watched by millions of people.

For Koch, waking up to the reality means remembering gravity has taken hold.

"In the first few days, I thought I was floating. I truly thought I was floating, and I had to convince myself I wasn't," Koch said.

Their mission lasted almost 10 days, but NASA has ambitions to return to the Moon for longer visits to establish a base in preparation for future missions to Mars.

The United States is targeting a lunar landing in 2028, before the end of President Donald Trump's term and a deadline set by rivals in China.

Varieties

Hidden Cave, Hippo Bones Under Welsh Castle May Rewrite History

Previous small-scale excavations at Pembroke Castle have already uncovered evidence of early humans and animals. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
Previous small-scale excavations at Pembroke Castle have already uncovered evidence of early humans and animals. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
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Hidden Cave, Hippo Bones Under Welsh Castle May Rewrite History

Previous small-scale excavations at Pembroke Castle have already uncovered evidence of early humans and animals. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
Previous small-scale excavations at Pembroke Castle have already uncovered evidence of early humans and animals. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN

A prehistoric hidden cave and hippo bones found beneath a Welsh castle could transform understanding of ancient life in Britain, researchers said Thursday, calling the site a "once-in-a-lifetime discovery".

Previous small-scale excavations at Pembroke Castle have already uncovered evidence of early humans and animals, including a now extinct hippopotamus that roamed Wales 120,000 years ago.

A major five-year archaeological project led by the University of Aberdeen will investigate the "enormous" cave, accessed via a spiral staircase from the 11th Century castle, AFP reported.

"There is no other site like it in Britain -- it is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery," said Rob Dinnis, who will lead the project.

The cave, previously thought to have been emptied by the Victorians, is now described as "one of the most important prehistoric archives in Britain".

"Despite the limited work done so far, we can already say that Wogan Cavern is a truly remarkable site," Dinnis said in a statement.

"Not only is there extremely rare evidence for early Homo sapiens, there are also hints at even earlier human occupation, probably by Neanderthals."

"We have also found hippo bones, which probably date to the last interglacial period, around 120,000 years ago," he added.

Earlier finds have revealed bones of mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, reindeer and wild horse, alongside stone tools and evidence of human occupation across multiple periods.

With larger-scale excavation due to resume in May, the researchers hope to gain "insights into past climate change, extinct species, and the multiple periods when humans called the cave their home".

They said the site could chart a long sequence of human activity, from hunter-gatherers after the last Ice Age around 11,500 years ago to some of Britain's earliest Homo sapiens between 45,000 and 35,000 years ago, and possibly even earlier Neanderthal presence.

"Wogan Cavern provides a unique chance to use all the scientific techniques now available to archaeologists," said professor Kate Britton of the University of Aberdeen.

"Because the bones are well preserved, we can learn a lot about past environments and ecosystems," she added.

At Pembroke Castle, staff say the discovery adds a new dimension to the site's long history as a medieval fortress and birthplace of Henry VII in 1457.

"This is incredibly exciting news for everyone at the castle," said castle manager Jon Williams.

"We are thrilled that work on this wonderful cave will continue."