Film critic Fionnuala Halligan has been appointed director of international programs at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival.
Fionnuala, who has long been chief critic for the U.K.’s Screen International, where she also served as executive editor, started her career in media as film critic for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she was based for 12 years. She more recently worked as a programmer for the Macao International Film Festival for five years (2016 – 2021) alongside her work at Screen. Fionnula is a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle, BAFTA and the European Film Academy, and a top-rated critic on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fionnuala will replace critic Kaleem Aftab who stepped down as the Red Sea fest’s director of international programming in March following a four-year stint. She will be working alongside Red Sea’s director of Arab programs and film classics Antoine Khalife to shape and curate the Jeddah-based fest’s line-up.
“Finn has been a collaborator and supporter of ours from the beginning, and she has both impeccable taste and a deep appreciation for cinema from across the world – particularly in Asia, a region we’ve increasingly championed as an organisation as our remit broadens,” said Shivani Pandya-Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea Film Foundation in a statement. “We are so thrilled to have her joining us to head up our international offering, which has been a cornerstone of our festival and continues to gain prestige and stature on the global circuit with each edition.”
Commented Halligan: “It’s a privilege to be joining the Red Sea Film Foundation in this new role. As I complete my tenure at Screen, I look forward to fully taking on the role after the Cannes Film Festival and working closely with the team to further shape and expand the festival’s international programming.”
The upcoming fifth edition of the Red Sea Film Festival will run Dec. 4-13 in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore.
