‘Playhouse’, ‘Fiction’ & ‘Dhel’ Among Winning Projects At Red Sea Souk

Upcoming projects from Palestinian filmmaker Maha Haj, Thailand’s Anocha Suwichakornpong, Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani and Saudi Arabia’s Dania Altayeb were among the winners at the close of Red Sea Souk project market.

Maha Haj’s Playhouse picked up a production award of $80,000 from Red Sea Souk and a further production grant from Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) for $50,000. Haj’s third feature following Personal Affairs (2016) and Mediterranean Fever (2022), Playhouse tells the story of a Palestinian construction worker who secretly moves into the house in Jaffa that his family were exiled from during the Nakba.

Fiction, a creative documentary from the director of Mundane History and Krabi, 2562, picked up a production award of $50,000 from Red Sea Souk. Set in an imagined Thai courtroom, it depicts the survivors of the 2010 military crackdown presenting their testimonies and staging the trial they were never given in real life.

Kordofani’s About Love & September Laws, a political drama inspired by true events when Sudan implemented Sharia Law in 1983, was presented with a $25,000 Development Award from the Souk and two in-kind awards: the Leyth Production Award for $50,000 in editing services, and the Shift Studios Award with a promotion package worth $12,000. Kordofani came to international attention in 2023 when his first feature, Goodbye Julia, was selected for Cannes.

Dhel, from Saudi filmmaker Dania Altayeb, also picked up a trio of awards: an ART production grant of $50,000; the DTS in-kind award, including sound post-production worth $30,000; and the Arab Cinema Center award, which supports producer Fahad Samman to attend the Produers Lab of International Film Festival Rotterdam 2026.

Developed through Red Sea Labs, Dhel follows a young Saudi artist, scarred by her father’s abandonment, taking part in an isolated art residency in AlUla where she encounters a ghostly muse haunted by the past.

Red Sea Souk project market, which runs alongside Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF), selected 40 feature film and series projects for this year’s edition, including 24 projects in development or production, eight works-in-progress and eight episodic series. It handed out a total of $700,000 in cash and in-kind przies (see full list of winners below).

The project market took place as part of Red Sea Souk, which also includes SeriesLab, a physical market, Souk Exhibition, the Souk Talks conference series and several labs, mentorship and workshop programmes under Souk Talents. The market featured 90 booths, a 20% increase from last year’s edition, hosting 166 exhibitors from more than 45 countries.

Previous projects selected for the Souk include Zain Duraie’s Sink and Cyril Aris’s A Sad And Beautiful World, which are both playing in the main competition of RSIFF.

RED SEA SOUK DEVELOPMENT AWARDS:

Production award ($80,000): Playhouse, dir: Maha Haj

Production award ($50,000): Fiction: dir: Anocha Suwichakornpong

Development award ($25,000): About Love & September Laws, dir: Mohamed Kordofani

Development award ($25,000): Price Of Evil, dir: Ibrahim Mursal

Breakthrough award for a debut director ($20,000): Cold Ashes Can Cause Forest Fires, dir: Ashmita Guha Neosi

Jury special mention award ($15,000): To Catch A Falling Sky, dir: Cheta Chukwu

RED SEA SOUK WORKS-IN-PROGRESS AWARDS:

Post-production award ($40,000): Ben’imana, dir: Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo

Post-production jury special mention ($15,000): Yesterday The Eye Didn’t Sleep, dir: Rakan Mayasi

RED SEA SOUK SERIES AWARDS:

Series Award ($10,000): Money Town, dir: Tony Koros

Series Award ($10,000): Side Effects, dir: Hind Metwalli

OTHER AWARDS:

Arab Cinema Center (ACC):
[One supported place for an Arab producer at IFFR Producers Lab 2026]
Fahad Samman, producer Dhel

Arab Radio and Television Network (ART):
[2 x ART $50,000 production grant for a Saudi project]
A Noble Departure, dir: Dalia Baeshen
Dhel, dir: Dania Altayeb
[1 x ART $50,000 production grant for an Arab project]
Playhouse, dir: Maha Haj

Blue Bee Productions [$10,000]:
Positive, dir: Hanaa Saleh Alfassi

CNC Award [Euros10,000]:
The Daughter, dir: Tian Guan

DTS Award:
[In-kind sound post-production worth $30,000]
Dhel, dir. Dania Altayeb

Filmmore Award:
[In-kind award full digital intermediate worth $32,500]
Ben’imana, dir: Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo

Freshly Ground Stories & Fineprint Award:
[2 x in-kind awards of business & legal support worth $5,000]
To Catch A Falling Sky, dir: Cheta Chukwu
Philax, dir: Ruken Tekes

Habbar Award:
[$10,000 cash plus in-kind award worth $40,000 for marketing services]
Green Corpse, dir: Khalid Zidan

Ithra Award:
[50,000 SAR ($13,333) cash award for a Saudi project]
Green Corpse, dir: Khalid Zidan

Leyth Production:
[In-kind award for editing worth $50,000]
About Love & September Laws, dir: Mohamed Kordofani

Easy Distribution:
[In-kind award for film distribution in Tunisia worth $10,000]
The Prodigal Son, Rani Massalha

MAD Solutions:
[In-kind award worth $50,000 as MG dedicated to world sales rights]
Infidels, dir: Eli Jean Tahchi

Oticons [$10,000 music consulting services]:
Ria, dir: Arvin Belarmino

Shift Studios Award [2 x promotion package worth $12,000]:
A Noble Departure, dir: Dahlia Baeshen
About Love & September Laws, dir: Mohamed Kordofani

Shift Studios Award [full DCP package worth $8,000]:
Positive, dir: Hanaa Saleh Alfassi