9th December, 2024, Jeddah – The Saudi Female Future Filmmakers, a program launched by Netflix, Sard, and NEOM Media industries, has concluded its activities at the Red Sea Film Festival. Supporting 15 emerging Saudi female talents, the program was built to develop their filmmaking skills as they embark on their journey in the Saudi film industry. Launched in September this year, the program’s 13-week schedule included workshops on screenwriting, directing, and producing content with industry mentors. The last phase of the program was a simulation pitch hosted at the Red Sea International Film Festival, where participants presented their pitches to a panel of industry experts. Panelists include Nuha Al Tayeb, Content Director in Netflix for Middle East, North Africa and Turkey; Mariam Naoum, Scriptwriter, CEO and founder of Sard; Reem Al Habib, writer, director, and actress; Ahmed Al-Mulla, poet, founder and president of the Saudi Film Festival; Faisal Baltyour, producer; and Abdulaziz Khuja, film critic and reviewer.
The Saudi Female Future Filmmakers Program is supported by Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity and is part of Netflix’s continuing investment in the Arab creative community. The program was designed to build a foundation in filmmaking for emerging female talents in Saudi Arabia, aged 21 and over, with no prior experience working in the film and TV industry. Through the course of the program, the selected participants experienced hands-on training, mentorship, and unparalleled access to industry insights.
Starting off with a 10-day virtual introductory course, the sessions were divided into one week of writing and one week of directing and producing. Following this, the 15 women experienced an intensive ten-week online advanced writing program where they collaborated with mentors to develop short scripts for the simulation pitch at the Red Sea Film Festival. The program offered a personalized mentorship plan with industry experts who built their journey in creating compelling scripts with comprehensive character and dialogue detailing. With the focus being on visual storytelling, the program prepared the women to face real-life scenarios that they might be challenged within the film industry.
This experience, alongside their participation at the festival’s workshops, panels, and networking events, provided invaluable exposure, connecting these emerging filmmakers with leaders across the industry and helping to lay the groundwork for their careers.