Red Sea Film Foundation-backed films to premiere at Locarno Film Festival
The 78th Locarno Film Festival, which will take place from August 6 to 16, 2025, has selected three films supported by the Red Sea Film Foundation.
The selected titles, Irkalla – Gilgamesh's Dream by Iraqi director Mohamed Al-Daradji, Becoming by Kazakh filmmaker Zhannat Alshanova and Exile by Tunisian director Mehdi Hmili, showcase bold storytelling from emerging voices across the Arab world and beyond.
Each film received backing through the Red Sea Fund or the Red Sea Souk, initiatives created by the foundation to foster innovative, diverse narratives in global cinema.
Irkalla – Gilgamesh's Dream reimagines the ancient Mesopotamian epic through a modern lens, following a diabetic street child who urges his fierce companion Gilgamesh to take him to the mythical underworld, Arkala.
Becoming explores themes of identity and self-discovery in contemporary Kazakhstan, tracing a young woman's struggle for independence under the direction of London-based filmmaker Alshanova.
In Exile, Hmili paints a haunting picture of grief and resilience set inside Tunisia's largest steel factory, where four workers grappling with physical and mental trauma are bound together by the mysterious disappearance of a colleague.
The Red Sea Film Foundation said that they are proud in supporting these projects and hailed their inclusion at Locarno as a major achievement for regional cinema and emerging talent.
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