Indian director Muzaffar Ali's newly restored 1981 classic Umrao Jaan will be screened outside the country for the first time at the upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, which has unveiled its Treasures line-up of six classic international and Arabic films.
Umrao Jaan starring the superstar Rekha her Indian National Film Award-winning performance as a courtesan-poet in Lucknow has been restored by the National Film Development Corporation and the National Film Archive of India under the National Film Heritage Mission.
Other films in the Treasures section include Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 psychological thriller Spellbound, starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, which marks the Martin Scorsese Film Foundation's first Red Sea Festival film dedicated to the preservation of world cinema. There's also Luc Besson's 1988 cult diving epic Big Blue making its big-screen debut in Saudi Arabia. For the first ever silent film festival, British silent film music specialist Neil Brand will provide live accompaniment to three silent farce short films from Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy.
The Treasures section will also feature two films by Egyptian director Ahmed Badrakhan, both starring Egyptian singer-actress and international icon Umm Kulthum, considered the Arab world's greatest singer. Freshly restored by the Red Sea Film Foundation and Egyptian Media City, Badrakhan's Aida (1942) and Badrakhan's Song of Hope (1937) will be shown for the first time at the Red Sea Festival as restored 4K prints.
“This year’s Treasures program shines a spotlight on true film legends, showcasing moments and acts that are immortalized in the cinematic canon and brought back to life for local and international audiences,” Red Sea Film Foundation CEO Faisal Baltuor said in a statement. “All of the selected films broke new ground with their original releases, and I am particularly honored to play a role in restoring two of Umm Kulthum’s most memorable performances as part of our ongoing commitment to bring the best of cinema to Saudi Arabia.”
The fifth festival will take place from December 4 to 13 in Jeddah, on the eastern shore of the Red Sea.
