Red Sea Film Foundation: ‘Norah’ Film to Hit Theaters on June 20

The Red Sea Film Foundation logo
The Red Sea Film Foundation logo
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Red Sea Film Foundation: ‘Norah’ Film to Hit Theaters on June 20

The Red Sea Film Foundation logo
The Red Sea Film Foundation logo

The Red Sea Film Foundation has announced that the film “Norah," which is backed by the Red Sea Fund, will be screened in Saudi and international theaters starting June 20.
“Norah” was screened last Thursday in the Un Certain Regard section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time a Saudi film has been selected for the festival's official lineup.
Directed by Tawfik Al-Zaidi, and starring Maria Bahrawi and the charismatic Yaqoub Al-Farhan, “Norah” has achieved an unprecedented feat for the Saudi cinema history. The film garnered immense attention, with tickets selling out only a few hours after reservations opened, receiving admiration from both critics and the public alike.
“Norah” was shot entirely in the enchanting city of arts and history, AlUla, nestled in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. With 40% of the film crew consisting of Saudis, it highlights the robust local support for the thriving film industry.
Transporting audiences to a small village in the nostalgic 1990s, the story of the film follows Norah, an imaginative young girl who crosses paths with Nader, an artist who sacrificed his passion for painting to teach the village's children.
“Norah” had its international premiere at the third annual Red Sea International Film Festival in December, where it clinched the prestigious Film AlUla Award for Best Saudi Feature Film.



New Searches Underway in Portugal Near Where Madeleine McCann Disappeared in 2007

 A Portuguese official during a search operation in a vast area between the cities of Lagos and Praia da Luz for Madeleine McCann, in Lagos, Portugal, 03 June 2025. (EPA)
A Portuguese official during a search operation in a vast area between the cities of Lagos and Praia da Luz for Madeleine McCann, in Lagos, Portugal, 03 June 2025. (EPA)
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New Searches Underway in Portugal Near Where Madeleine McCann Disappeared in 2007

 A Portuguese official during a search operation in a vast area between the cities of Lagos and Praia da Luz for Madeleine McCann, in Lagos, Portugal, 03 June 2025. (EPA)
A Portuguese official during a search operation in a vast area between the cities of Lagos and Praia da Luz for Madeleine McCann, in Lagos, Portugal, 03 June 2025. (EPA)

Police investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann searched near an abandoned rural building in southern Portugal on Tuesday as they launched fresh probes near the holiday resort where she was last seen 18 years ago.

The case received worldwide interest for several years, with reports of sightings of McCann occurring as far away as Australia, while books and television documentaries were produced about her disappearance.

German investigators and Portuguese police officers and firefighters were searching in the countryside several miles from the Praia da Luz resort, where the 3-year-old disappeared from her bed while on vacation with her family on May 3, 2007.

The teams were seen using pickaxes, shovels and chainsaws to clear dense vegetation and dig near a derelict building. Firefighters pumped water out of a well.

Almost two decades on, investigators in the UK, Portugal and Germany are still piecing together what happened on the night the toddler disappeared. She was in the same room as her brother and sister — 2-year-old twins — while their parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends outside.

Portuguese police said Monday that detectives were acting on a request from a German public prosecutor as they carry out “a broad range” of searches this week in the area of Lagos, in southern Portugal.

The main suspect is a German national identified by media as Christian Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005.

He is under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but hasn’t been charged. He spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz, around the time of the child’s disappearance. Brueckner has denied any involvement.

The last time police resumed searches in the case was in 2023, when detectives from the three countries took part in an operation searching near a dam and a reservoir about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the resort.

McCann's family marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance last month, and expressed their determination to keep searching.