The festival, however, will continue to run and hold screenings and events till 15 December.

“The nominees showcased an incredible range of talent across a diverse and fascinating breadth of themes,” stated Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore, who led the jury of the Features Competition.

“This has been an extraordinary experience, we have been moved, provoked, and inspired by these films and it has demonstrated the exceptional filmmaking talent and compelling stories that come from the Arab world, Africa, and Asia. The quality of the nominated films made many of our decisions very difficult,” he added.

Under Tornatore, the Feature Competition jury also included Tunisian actress Hend Sabry; Palestinian-American director, writer, actress, and producer Cherien Dabis; Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel; and Saudi film director Abdel-Aziz Al-Shlahei.

The Red Sea Shorts Competition Jury was headed by Egyptian director Marwan Hamed and joined by Saudi Arabian actress and director Ahd Kamel and Finnish-Somali director and writer Khadar Ayderus.

All the winners of the Red Sea International Film Festival were announced as follows:

Best Saudi Film: ‘Rupture’ by Hamzah K. Jamjoom (Saudi Arabia)
Audience Award: ‘You Resemble Me’ by Dina Amer (Egypt, France, USA)
Red Sea Immersive Silver Yusr: ‘Samsara’ by Hsin-Chien Huang (Taiwan)
Red Sea Immersive Gold Yusr: ‘End Of Night’ by David Adler (Denmark, France)
Red Sea Short Competition Golden Yusr: ‘Tala’vision’ by Murad Abu Eisheh (Jordan, Germany)
Red Sea Competition Special Mention: ‘Farha’ by Darin J. Sallam (Jordan)
Red Sea Competition Best Cinematic Contribution: Amin Jafari for ‘Hit The Road’ (Iran)
Red Sea Competition Best Screenplay: ‘Neighbours’ by Mano Khalil (Syria, Switzerland)
Red Sea Competition Best Actor: Adam Ali for his role in ‘Europa’ (Iraq, Italy, Kuwait)
Red Sea Competition Best Actress: Arawinda Kirana for her role in ‘Yuni’ (Indonesia, Singapore, France, Australia)
Red Sea Competition Best Director: ‘Europa’ by Haider Rashid (Iraq, Italy, Kuwait)
Red Sea Competition Jury Prize: ‘Hit The Road’ by Panah Panahi (Iran)
Red Sea Competition Best Film: ‘Brighton 4th’ by Levan Koguashvili (Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, USA, Monaco)