Spike Lee will head up the jury for the upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival. The decorated Malcolm X filmmaker will preside over the features competition jury, which last year saw Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames taking Best Feature and Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher scoring a pair of wins including Best Actor for Saleh Bakri.

The 2024 Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia has announced that Spike Lee will preside over the jury of films

Jomana Al Rashid, chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation, lauded Lee. “Spike is a pioneering director whose iconic work has made a lasting impact on both film as a medium and culture at large,” she said. “His energy, incisiveness, and genuine championing of creativity and new voices make him an ideal fit to lead our jury for this year.”

The Jeddah festival's broader lineup now includes Thierry Frémaux's "Lumière: Le Cinema," the sequel to "Lumière: The Adventure Begins."