The Red Sea Fund, a program under the Red Sea Film Foundation, has recently announced an open call for production projects as part of its second cycle in 2024. From April 6 to April 30, 2024, filmmakers from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, and Africa can submit their applications.
This cycle aims to provide financial grants to assist filmmakers in realizing their visions and supporting projects at the production stage. Eligible projects include feature, fiction, documentary, and animation films, as well as series and short films.
To apply for the fund, projects must meet specific criteria. Feature films, documentaries, or animation films must have a minimum length of 60 minutes, while short films, documentaries, or animation films not exceeding 59 minutes are eligible for Saudi projects. Scripted episodic series must have a minimum length of 25 minutes but no more than 59 minutes per episode. It is required that the directors be of African or Arab nationality/origin.
The project must submit the required documents to apply, including a logline, synopsis, film’s chain of titles, English script for non-documentary projects, and writer’s treatment for feature documentaries and episodic documentaries. The application also includes an English script and writer’s treatment for fiction and animation, a pilot episode script and treatment in English for fiction episodic, a director’s statement/vision, a director’s motivation video with English subtitles, and links to the director’s previous work. All documents must be submitted in English except for the script for Saudi projects, which can be in Arabic.
In addition, the production company profile, registration documents, passport of the authorized signatory, and an official document proving the legal authorization and capacity of the signatory to sign on behalf of the company must be provided for feature and series projects (if selected).
Since its inception in 2021, the Red Sea Fund has supported over 250 projects, including feature films, shorts, documentaries, series, and animation films. Many of these projects have received numerous international awards.
