Sean Baker to Serve as Red Sea Film Festival Jury President

Oscar-winning “Anora” director Sean Baker will serve as president of this year’s Red Sea Film Festival‘s features jury.

The Saudi Arabian fest is holding its fifth edition from Dec. 3 to 14, with a lineup including Angelina Jolie’s “Couture,” “The Wizard of the Kremlin” starring Jude Law and Paul Dano and Rupert Wyatt’s “Desert Warrior” with Ben Kingsley and Anthony Mackie.

“It’s an honor to serve as jury president for the Red Sea International Film Festival this year, taking the baton from Spike Lee,” Baker said in a statement. “I’ve long admired how the festival champions bold, diverse voices from across the globe, and this year’s Feature Competition showcases some of the most daring and exciting new voices from the Arab world, Africa and Asia. Festivals like Red Sea IFF give independent films a vital platform and connect them with a global audience, I’m thrilled to be part of that celebration of cinema and look forward to engaging with the incredible titles in the competition lineup.”

Baker’s “Anora” took home five Oscars earlier this year, including best picture, director, original screenplay, editing and actress for Mikey Madison. A champion of indie cinema, Baker is also known for his pioneering features “Tangerine” (2015), which was entirely shot on an iPhone, and “The Florida Project” (2017).

Added Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation: “Sean Baker is a trailblazing director whose dedication to championing authentic and meaningful storytelling through film is truly inspiring. He has continually pushed the boundaries of cinema with authentic storytelling and an unmistakable artistic vision, and we deeply admire his commitment to independent filmmaking. We are very proud to be bringing him on board to lead our features jury this year, fresh off his record-breaking success at the 2025 Academy Awards for our very special fifth edition.”