Mohammed Al-Turki Represents Red Sea Film Festival at Cannes Opening Ceremony
At the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Mohammed Al-Turki, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival, made a striking appearance at the opening ceremony. Lebanese actress-director Nadine Labaki dazzled on the red carpet alongside her fellow Cannes jury members.
Al-Turki took to social media to share photos from the red carpet, where he stood alongside Jomana Al-Rashid, CEO of the Saudi Research and Media Group. He captioned the post with enthusiasm, “Beautiful and inspiring opening night @festivaldecannes repping @redseafilm with @jomanaalrashid! Congratulations Thiery and Iris for a great start for what I’m sure will be an edition that exceeds all expectations,” giving a shoutout to artistic director Thierry Fremaux and festival president Iris Knobloch.
Mohammed Al-Turki posed alongside Jomana Al-Rashid, CEO of the Saudi Research and Media Group. (Getty Images)
The opening night film showcased was “The Second Act,” a comedy starring Léa Seydoux and Louis Garrel.
Prior to the screening of “The Second Act,” Cannes introduced its impressive jury lineup, which includes Omar Sy, Lily Gladstone, Nadine Labaki, Ebru Ceylan, Hirokazu Kore-eda, J.A. Bayona, and Greta Gerwig.
The Cannes Film Festival jury features Lebanese director-actress Nadine Labaki (fourth from the left). (Getty Images)
The highlight of the evening was the presence of iconic US actress Meryl Streep, who received an honorary Palme d’Or. Upon taking the stage to accept her award, the Oscar-winner was met with a two-minute standing ovation. Streep shared a poignant message with the audience, recalling words from her mother: “Darling, you’ll see, it all goes so fast.”
Exciting news for Saudi Arabia as a film from the country will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival for the very first time.
“Norah,” the feature debut of Saudi director Tawfik Alzaidi, has been selected in the Un Certain Regard section and will be shown alongside 19 other entries from around the globe.