Palestinian Filmmaker Maha Haj’s ‘Playhouse’ Leads Winners at Red Sea Souk Project Awards

Palestinian filmmaker Maha Haj‘s “Playhouse” was the major winner at the Project Market Awards of the Red Sea Souk, the industry arm of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival.

The Red Sea Fund backed 10 jury-granted awards – two for works-in-progress, six for projects in development, and two for series projects – and additional awards were presented by film industry partners.

“Playhouse” won the Red Sea Souk Production Award, with $80,000 as a cash prize, which was awarded by the Red Sea Souk projects in development jury. It also won the Arab Radio and Television Network Award for an Arab project with a production grant of $50,000.

The project is produced by Thanassis Karathanos, who picked up the awards at the ceremony, of Germany’s Pallas Film. Karathanos is the producer of Cherien Dabis’ 2025 Sundance selected title “All That’s Left of You,” which is Jordan’s Oscar entry. His credits also include Oscar-nominated films “Ajami,” “The Man Who Sold His Skin” and “Four Daughters.”

“Playhouse” tells the story of a young Palestinian from the Aida refugee camp, who decides to secretly live on the roof of his family’s ancestral home in Jaffa, taken from them during the 1948 Nakba, and now occupied by an Israeli family, whose lives he silently observes.

In a statement, Haj said that through Zayd’s story, “I explore the exiled lives of Palestinians and the silent resistance embedded in their daily survival. The unfinished roof where Zayd hides becomes a metaphor for interrupted histories and unspoken longing.

“Visually, the film contrasts the suffocating confines of the Aida refugee camp with the haunting elegance of the old Jaffa house, embodying both loss and the yearning for return.”

Haj’s debut feature “Personal Affairs” premiered at Cannes in 2016, earning numerous awards including best feature at Haifa and a special mention at Zurich. Her second feature, “Mediterranean Fever,” won the screenplay prize at Cannes in 2022. In 2024, Haj released the short film “Upshot,” which won the Pardino d’Oro for best auteur short at Locarno and the audience award at Clermont-Ferrand.

Producing parters include France’s Still Moving, Cyprus’ AMP Filmworks and Palestine’s Fresco Films.

Holly Daniel, director of the Red Sea Souk, said: “The Souk’s Project Market is a vital part of our industry strand that champions the next generation of storytellers, and we have seen projects with incredible potential in our awards this evening. It’s testament to the importance of supporting these filmmakers that in this fifth edition of the festival, we’re seeing projects like Zain Duraie’s ‘Sink’ and Cyril Aris’ ‘A Sad and Beautiful World,’ that were supported by the Souk, now competing in our main features competition.”

SOUK AWARD WINNERS
RED SEA SOUK WORKS IN PROGRESS AWARDS
Red Sea Souk Post-Production Jury Special Mention Award with a grant of $15,000, awarded by Red Sea Souk works-in-progress jury
Winner: “Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep” by Rakan Mayasi

Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award with a grant of $40,000, awarded by Red Sea Souk WIP jury
Winner: “Ben’imana” by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo

RED SEA SOUK SERIES AWARDS
Two $10,000 Red Sea Souk Series Awards, awarded by Red Sea Souk SeriesLab jury
Winner: “Money Town” by Tony Koros
Winner: “Side Effects” by Hind Metwalli

RED SEA SOUK PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT AWARDS
$15,000 Red Sea Souk Jury Special Mention Award, awarded by Red Sea Souk projects in development jury
Winner: “To Catch a Falling Sky” by Cheta Chukwu

$20,000 Red Sea Souk Breakthrough Award (for a debut director), awarded by Red Sea Souk projects in development jury
Winner: “Cold Ashes Can Cause Forest Fires” by Ashmita Guha Neosi

$25,000 Red Sea Souk Development Award, awarded by Red Sea Souk projects in development jury
Winner: “Price of Evil” by Ibrahim Mursal

$25,000 Red Sea Souk Development Award, awarded by Red Sea Souk projects in development jury
Winner: “About Love and September Laws” by Mohamed Kordofani

$50,000 Red Sea Souk Production Award, awarded by Red Sea Souk projects in development jury
Winner: “Fiction” by Anocha Suwichakornpong

$80,000 Red Sea Souk Production Award, awarded by Red Sea Souk projects in development jury
Winner: “Playhouse” by Maha Haj

PARTNER AWARDS
Arab Cinema Center Award, with one supported place for an Arab producer at the Producers Lab of the International Film Festival Rotterdam
Winner: Fahd Samman, producer of “Dhel”

Arab Radio and Television Network Awards for two Saudi projects with a production grant of $50,000 for projects in development or production
Winner: “A Noble Departure”
Winner: “Dhel”

Arab Radio and Television Network Award for one Arab project with a production grant of $50,000 for a project in development or production
Winner: “Playhouse” by Maha Haj

Blue Bee Productions Award for one project with an amount of $10,000
Winner: “Positive” by Hanaa Saleh Alfassi

CNC Award for one project with an amount of €10,000 ($11,600 equivalent), awarded by the Red Sea Souk projects in development jury
Winner: “The Daughter” by Tian Guan

DTS in-kind award consisting of sound post-production worth the equivalent of $30,000
Winner: “Dhel” by Dania Altayeb

Filmmore in-kind award consisting of a full digital intermediate for a feature film worth $32,500
Winner: “Ben’imana” by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo

Two in-kind awards of professional business and legal support worth $5,000, awarded by Freshly Ground Stories and Fineprint
Winner: “To Catch a Falling Sky” by Cheta Chukwu
Winner: “Philax” by Ruken Tekes

Habbar cash award of $10,000 plus in-kind award worth $40,000 for marketing services
Winner: “Green Corpse” by Khalid Zidan

Ithra cash award of 50,000 SAR ($13,333) for a Saudi project
Winner: “Green Corpse” by Khalid Zidan

Leyth Production in-kind award for editing worth $50,000
Winner: “About Love and September Laws” by Mohamed Kordofani

Easy Distribution in-kind award for film distribution in Tunisia equivalent to $10,000
Winner: “The Prodigal Son” by Rani Massalha

MAD Solutions in-kind award worth $50,000 as minimum guarantee dedicated to world sales rights
Winner: “Infidels” by Eli Jean Tahchi

One in-kind award worth $10,000 consisting of music consulting services, awarded by Oticons
Winner: “Ria” by Arvin Belarmino

Shift Studios awards for a promotion package worth $12,000 each, awarded by Shift Studios
Winner: “A Noble Departure” by Dahlia Baeshen
Winner: “About Love & September Laws” by Mohamed Kordofani

Shift Studios Award, consisting of a full DCP package worth $8,000
Winner: “Positive” by Hanaa Saleh Alfassi