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Zarrar Khan’s In Flames has picked up the Yusr Award for best competition film at the third edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The festival, which attracted such Hollywood stars as Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth and Sharon Stone, on Thursday evening unveiled the winners of its Red Sea competition honors, the so-called Yusr awards, as well as other prizes.
Khan’s Pakistani-Canadian horror pic that bowed in Cannes portrays a mother and daughter having to navigate loss, oppression and vulnerability after the death of the family patriarch. The debut feature is rendered as a ghost story as they must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
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The Silver Yusr award for best feature went to Tarsem Singh’s modern day tragic drama Dear Jassi, which bowed in Toronto, where it won the 2023 Platform Prize.
In other prize-giving, the Film AlUla Audience Award for best film went to the South Korean crime drama Hopeless by director Kim Chang-Hoon, while Tawfik Alzaidi’s Norah was honored with the Film AlUla Audience Award for the best Saudi film.
And the award for Best Cinematic Contribution went to Omen, a drama by the Belgian-Congolese director Baloji. The acting categories saw the best actor prize go to Saleh Bakri for The Teacher, which also earned the Jury Prize in Jeddah. And the best actress trophy went to Mouna Hawa for her star turn in Inshallah A Boy.
This year’s competition jury was headed by Baz Luhrmann.
A complete list of the winners from this year’s festival follows.
Best Documentary In Competition: Kaouther Ben Hania, Four Daughters
Chopard Rising Talent Trophy: Nour Alkhadra
Film AlUla Audience Award, Saudi Film: Norah
Film AlUla Audience Award, Non-Saudi Film: Hopeless, South Korea
Best Cinematic Contribution: Omen, Baloji
Best Actor: Saleh Bakri, The Teacher
Best Actress: Mouna Hawa, Inshallah A Boy
Best Screenplay: Six Feet Over, Karim Bensalah and Jamal Belmahi
Best Director: Shokir Kholikov, Sunday
Jury Prize: Farah Nabulsi, The Teacher
Silver Yusr: Dear Jassi, Tarsem Singh
Golden Yusr: In Flames, Zarrar Kahn
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