Spike Lee to attend Saudi Arabia's first international film festival

Jeddah's Red Sea International Film Festival, the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, will host a special screening of Malcolm X (1992), which will be attended by its Academy award-winning director Spike Lee. Malcom X has a history with the Kingdom: it was the first Hollywood feature film to be given permission to film in the holy city of Mecca. The film festival runs from Thursday, March 12 to Saturday, March 21; Lee will attend the earlier part of the festival, with the Malcolm X screening on Friday, March 13. The film tells the story of African-American civil rights activist Malcolm X, played by Denzel Washington. The film gave Washington his second Oscar nomination; he also won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for it at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Speaking to The National in Dubai last year, Lee said that Washington is "the most intelligent actor on earth" , explaining how the actor prepared for the role in a method way. “There was no pork on his fork and no alcohol. He learnt how to pray in Arabic and he studied the Quran," he said. “There are many biopics, but just because you talk and look like the subject, that is only the surface.” American director Oliver Stone will also attend the Red Sea film festival, heading up its jury. The 16 films running in-competition at the festival are: Air Conditioner by Fradique Le Regard de Charles by Marc Di Domenico Better Days by Derek Tsang Ee Allay Ooo! by Prateek Vats Made in Bangladesh by Rubaiyat Hossain Verdict by Raymund Ribay Dutierrez The Assistant by Kitty Green Resistance by Jonathan Jakubowicz The Perfect Candidate by Haifa Al Mansour Shine Your Eyes by Matias Mariani Black Milk by Uisenma Borchu Los Conductos by Camilo Restrepo Exil by Visar Morina The Red Sea International Film Festival runs from Thursday, March 12 to Saturday, March 21.

Spike Lee to attend Saudi Arabia's first international film festival

The award-winning director's 1992 film 'Malcolm X' will have a special screening