The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) has announced that Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Spike Lee (Malcom X, BlacKkKlansman) will preside over the Festival’s Red Sea: Features Competition Jury this year. The fourth edition of the festival will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from December 5 to 14, in Jeddah’s Old Town of Al Balad.
Spike Lee is a graduate of Morehouse College Class of 1979 with B.A. in Mass Communications. He also is graduate of the Numero Uno, NYU Graduate Film School, classmate of Ernest Dickerson and Ang Lee – 1982, also a tenured film professor and artistic director there. Spike’s wife/partner is Ms. Tonya Lewis Lee, an award winning documentary filmmaker. They have a daughter, Satchel Lewis Lee and a son, Jackson Lewis Lee. Both are also artists. Most recently Mr.Lee received the National Medal of Arts and Humanities from President Joe Biden. Spike was also inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame as a SuperFan alongside Jack Nicholson and Billy Crystal.
The Red Sea: Features competition will showcase the highest achievements from a diverse range of filmmakers from the Arab region, Asia and Africa. 16 features have been selected and showcase the most compelling, unique and impressive work from the past year, with the winners being selected by Lee and the highly esteemed Jury to receive the coveted Yusr Awards. For 2023, the Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film was awarded to In Flames, directed by Zarrar Khan. Lee will also participate in the Festival’s In Conversation strand, which welcomes industry luminaries from all over the world to share insights and have meaningful discussions about their practice, passions and stories.
Jomana Al Rashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation said: “Looking towards our fourth edition, we’re honoured to welcome the legendary Spike Lee as our President of Jury for the festival this year. Spike is a pioneering director whose iconic work has made a lasting impact on both film as a medium and culture at large. His energy, incisiveness and genuine championing of creativity and new voices makes him an ideal fit to lead our jury for this year – we look forward to him engaging with the burgeoning talent in our competition line up.”
Spike Lee added: “Having been lucky enough to experience first-hand the incredible filmmaking, atmosphere and creativity at the Red Sea International Film Festival in 2022, it’s a privilege to be returning this year as President of the Jury. Alongside creating a melting pot for cultures to come together in celebration of our important art-form, it’s vital to continue to platform young and emerging filmmakers who are finding their voice in the industry, and it’s exciting to see first-time directors from across the Arab region, Asia and Africa as part of the Competition lineup this year. I’m looking forward to diving in to the programme and making what I’m sure will be some very tough decisions alongside the leading luminaries on the jury.”
