EXCLUSIVE: The Red Sea International Film Festival has announced its seven honorees for its annual Women in Cinema Gala, which spotlights contributions of female filmmakers, creators, actors and executives to the entertainment industry.
This year’s roster includes Zambian-Welsh writer-director Rungano Nyoni; South Asian actress Jacqueline Fernandez; Egyptian actress Amina Khalil; Saudi actress Elham Ali; Thai actress Engfa Waraha; Syrian filmmaker Gaya Jiji; and Saudi filmmaker and artist Sarah Taiba.
Established in 2022, the Women in Cinema Gala is an annual event hosted by the Red Sea Film Foundation in Cannes during the film festival, at the iconic Du Cap Hotel. As part of the event, a cohort of women who are making waves in their careers across the Arab world, Asia and Africa are selected each year.
Nyoni is a Zambian-Welsh director, screenwriter and actress, who gained recognition with her early shorts, including The List, which won a BAFTA Cymru Award, and Mwansa the Great, which was BAFTA-nominated and selected for more than 100 international film festivals. Her feature films, I Am Not a Witch and On Becoming A Guinea Fowl, have earned her numerous accolades, including the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut and the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Director at Cannes, as well as Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards.
Fernandez is a South Asian actress and global performer. A former Miss Universe Sri Lanka, she transitioned into film with breakout performances such as Murder 2 and Housefull 2, commercial successes like Race 2and Kick opposite Salman Khan, and the hit franchise films Housefull 3 and Judwaa 2. She has continually evolved as an artist in projects like Roy, Dishoom, A Gentleman, Bhoot Police and Netflix’s Mrs. Serial Killer. Most recently, she was seen in Ram Setu and Cirkus, further cementing her position as a leading actress in the Indian entertainment industry.
Khalil is an Egyptian actress who made her way through the silver screen by taking different iconic roles in films such as 122, The Suit, Sheik Jackson, Curfew and A Nose and Three Eyes. Since beginning her career in 2011, she has spent nearly 15 years shaping the landscape of Arab cinema and television and is a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, where she advocates for women’s rights, gender equality, and mental health awareness.
Ali is a Saudi actress who made her debut in theatre and moved into television to present the morning program Nuts on Saudi TV Channel 1. Following a move to Bahrain, she returned to the theatre and won an award for the Best Rising Actress. Her first acting experience in the Gulf region was the series Rihana, and she went on to star in popular series Azraa and The Way of Female Teachers.
Thai actress Waraha, who gained widespread acclaim in 2023 for her lead role as Meena in the hit TV series Show Me Love, which marked her breakout performance. She went on to star as Kulap in Bangkok Blossom and delivered a standout performance as Hom Jongyoi in The Paradise of Thorns. The film was a major box office success and earned her the Best Actress of the Year award at the 2025 Thailand Box Office Awards, as well as a runner-up position for Best Actress at the 14th Thai Film Director Awards. Her growing body of work includes roles in Petrichor as Tul Chanwimol, along with appearances in Club Friday Season 16: Hot Love Issue and Unlimited Love, and she is set to star in Lady Bee, an upcoming film adapted from the Thai literary classic The Story of Jan Dara.
Jiji is a Syrian filmmaker, born in Damascus who has directed three short films: The Haunted House, created for a workshop at the University of Paris 8; The Father… too, produced by the Damascus Arab Capital of Culture which received a Special Mention from the Jury at the FIFAK Festival – Tunisia 2009; and Morning, noon, evening… and morning, which won the Best Short Film Award by Cinemag, and was selected for numerous festivals worldwide. Her first feature-length film, My Favorite Fabric, was selected in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Festival de Cannes and was awarded the Women in Motion Young Talent Award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
Taiba is a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She is the creator, writer, and lead of the acclaimed dark comedy series Jameel Jiddan, and most recently finished shooting her feature film A Matter of Life and Death, which she stars in and wrote. Beyond filmmaking, Sarah holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Her creative practice spans film, performance, and illustration—mediums through which she translates intimate inner dialogues into powerful visual narratives. Her work often centers on nuanced portrayals of Saudi women, told with boldness and authenticity.
The third annual Women in Cinema Gala takes place at the Hotel du Cap on May 15, 2025.
