 "The Red Sea International Film Festival 2025: Rekha's 'Umrao Jaan' gets featured in its Treasures Programme")
The Red Sea International Film Festival 2025 (Red Sea IFF) has revealed the programme for its Treasures strand, showcasing a selection of six classic Arab and International films, as well as the first-ever live accompanied silent film screening showcase in Saudi Arabia.
One of the films that will feature in its Treasures strand is Rekha’s 1981 classic Umrao Jaan, which also starred Farooq Shaikh and Naseeruddin Shah and was directed by Muzaffar Ali. Known for its music and exquisite performances that also carried a lot of ache, this drama was remade 25 years later with Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.
The strand features timeless classics of cinema from the Arab world and beyond, beautifully restored for new audiences. Restored in 4k this year by the National Film Archive of India under the National Film Heritage Mission, Umrao Jaan is a classic of Indian cinema immortalised by its music, poetry and performances – and will be shown outside of the country for the first time at Red Sea IFF. Brought back to full quality in 2024, Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller SPELLBOUND (1945) is the Festival’s first restored film by the Film Foundation, the Martin Scorsese-led specialist in global archive restoration. Additionally. Luc Besson’s free-diving epic THE BIG BLUE (1988) makes its big-screen debut in Saudi Arabia, bringing back the beloved French cult classic that explores themes of love, friendship, and fierce sporting rivalry. For the Festival’s first ever SILENT FILM SPECTACULAR, the UK’s silent film musical specialist Neil Brand will provide live accompaniment to three silent slapstick shorts from Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy.
From the Arab world, the programme will present two films from Egyptian director Ahmed Badrakhan that star legendary singer, actress and Egyptian national treasure Umm Kulthum, one of the most revered musical legends in the Arab world. Following restoration by the Red Sea Film Foundation and Egypt’s Media City, AIDA (1942) and SONG OF HOPE (1937) will be shown at the Red Sea IFF as 4K restored copies for the first time.
Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “This year’s Treasures lineup spotlights true legends of film, showcasing moments and performances which are immortalised in the cinematic canon brought back to life for local and international audiences. All of the titles selected broke new ground with their original releases, and it’s a particular privilege to have played a part in the restoration of two of Umm Kulthum’s most memorable performances, as part of our ongoing commitment to bringing the best of cinema to Saudi Arabia.”
Red Sea International Film Festival – Treasures
AIDA
Country: Egypt
Ahmed Badrakhan
Aida, the 1942 Egyptian film starring the Umm Kulthum, delivers a captivating fusion of romance, social commentary and musical brilliance. The story centers on Aida (Kulthum), a gifted farmer’s daughter and her forbidden love with Sami, a young nobleman. Their relationship is opposed by Sami’s father, a pasha, due to the social class distinctions. The drama reaches a turning point when the pasha attends a musical performance by Aida. Struck by her talent on stage, his heart softens, leading him to reconsider and accept the couple’s union. Beyond the captivating love story, the film features Kulthum’s evolving cinematic persona.
SONG OF HOPE
Country: Egypt
Ahmed Badrakhan
In the 1937 Egyptian drama Nashid Al-Amal (Song of Hope), Umm Kulthum stars as Amal, a gifted woman torn between her love and artistic ambition. Amal faces intense societal pressure, which demands she prioritize a traditional domestic role over her singing career. Her decision to abandon her professional dreams for marriage captures the era’s prevailing expectations for women, creating a significant cinematic conflict. Despite the film’s narrative of compromise, it serves to highlight Kulthum’s remarkable defiance of such limitations in her real life. As Amal struggles with her choices, audiences are treated to the iconic singer’s powerful performances. This classic film explores the painful clash between societal duty and personal aspiration, ultimately celebrating the strength of a woman’s artistic spirit.
SPELLBOUND
Country: USA
Alfred Hitchcock
The basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic melodrama Spellbound was driven by producer David O’Selznick’s fascination with psychiatry, and, unusually for the time – it shot in 1944 – Selznick brought his own analyst to the shoot as on-set advisor (to Hitchcock’s dismay). Another rare element to Spellbound is Hitchcock’s collaboration with the surreal artist Salvador Dali on an elaborate dream sequence, most of which ended up on the cutting room floor, although two minutes survives in this black-and-white feature with two ultimate bursts of colour. Dr Anthony Edwards (Gregory Peck) has been recently installed as head of the Green Manors Mental Asylum, but his colleague Dr Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) soon realises something isn’t right. The Red Sea Film Festival is delighted to present this 2024 restoration by Walt Disney Studios in association with The Film Foundation, with the participation of the Academy Film Archive. Special thanks to Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
THE BIG BLUE
Country: France, USA, Italy
Luc Besson
From director Luc Besson, plunge into the life aquatic in this ground-breaking, once-seen-never-forgotten cult film from 1988 starring Jean-Mark Barr, Jean Reno and Rosanna Arquette and inspired by real-life champion free-divers. No-limits free divers – who rely on breath-holding techniques only – Jacques Mayol (Barr) and Enzo Molinari (Reno) are childhood friends who grow up to become champion divers, brothers on land but rivals underwater. With Arquette the only land line to an increasingly un-anchored Jacques, the eccentric Enzo pushes ever-deeper. With achingly-beautiful underwater sequences – which have never been matched – and Eric Serra’s languid score, this English-language film with a deeply European-sensibility was the most popular film in France of the 1980s, playing for a year and selling almost 10 million tickets.
SILENT FILM SPECTACULAR
Country: USA
Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy
Roll up, roll up! Neil Brand, the pre-eminent silent film accompanist, will stage a live show for the first time ever in Saudi Arabia. Truly an event for all the family, this concert will bring the slapstick of a century ago back to flickering life – just as audiences saw it at the time. Featuring classic sight gags from short films by Charlie Chaplin (The Immigrant), Laurel & Hardy (Liberty) and Buster Keaton (One Week), this silent spectacular is a testament to the enduring power of the silent film age and indelible imagery which lives on and on. With Neil providing his own rich introduction and piano score and a live drummer hitting the marks, this show will be a must-see - and a must-laugh. With interval.
UMRAO JAAN
Country: India
Muzaffar Ali
Umrao Jaan by Muzaffar Ali, is an adaptation of Mirza Hadi Ruswa’s 1899 Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada, which tells the story of a Lucknow tawaif and poet, and her rise to fame. It’s considered a classic of Indian cinema immortalised by the music of Khayyam, the Urdu poetry of Shahryar, Asha Bhosle, and the exquisite beauty and iconic performance by the superstar Rekha in the lead role. Ali, a multifaceted artist and connoisseur of poetry, created this period drama, set in 1857 Lucknow, as a souvenir of Awadhi culture, fabricating an entire milieu through resplendent costume design and detailed art direction. Though an independent arthouse film made outside the syntax of mainstream cinema, it achieved a cult status.