Out Of Africa: 2025 Red Sea Film Festival’s Souk Project Market

Major Spotlight Beams On African Cinema At 2025 Red Sea Film Festival’s Souk Project Market

The Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea IFF) has announced its list of feature film and series projects for this year’s edition of the Red Sea Souk Project Market, with African films taking centre stage.

The Red Sea Souk Project Market is a platform powered by Red Sea IFF, designed to bolster international co-productions and grant access to new projects and talent.

Twenty-four of the selected titles are currently in development or production, twelve of which have been developed by Red Sea Labs over the past year as part of the Feature Film Programme. The final selection also includes eight feature-length works in progress and eight episodic projects.

Projects In Development And Production

ABOUT LOVE AND SEPTEMBER LAWS by Mohamed Kordofani (Fiction) – Sudan: In 1983, as Sharia Law is enforced, a doctor, a translator, and an African-American journalist become entangled in love and resistance amid a nation’s political upheaval.

COUMBA by Mamadou Dia (Fiction) – Senegal: A police inspector returns to his hometown to investigate a murder linked to a mysterious spirit. As the Wolf Moon rises, he faces the town’s fears, hidden rituals, and a past that refuses to stay buried.

NKANAI by Bruno Tanya (Debut, Fiction) – Kenya: After a devastating injury leaves her paralyzed, Samburu’s first female warrior rejects exile. With only a haunted tracker by her side, she braves northern Kenya’s ruthless bandits, betrayal, and unforgiving terrain to reclaim her dignity and home.

PRICE OF EVIL by Ibrahim Mursal (Debut, Fiction) – Sudan: When his grandfather is murdered, Ahmed must decide the killer’s punishment according to Sudanese law: prison, forgiveness or the death penalty. We follow him as he faces an impossible decision with enormous consequences for himself and his family.

SPACEMAN IN KONGO by Maisha Maene (Debut, Creative Documentary) – Democratic Republic of the Congo: Two young rocket engineers, propelled by the memory of African dreamers and a resilient belief in their homeland, work on building the first Congolese space programme.

TO CATCH A FALLING SKY by Cheta Chukwu (Fiction) – Nigeria: In 1966, as civil war erupts, a brilliant but childless woman must confront her husband’s devastating choice to bring home a second wife, forcing her to choose between resentment and an unthinkable alliance as their country collapses around them.

Works In Progress

BENIMANA by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo (Debut, Fiction) – Rwanda, Gabon, Ivory Coast: Veneranda, a survivor of the Tutsi genocide working for reconciliation, must face her old demons when her daughter unexpectedly gets pregnant. 

LA PYRAMIDE by CJ ‘Fiery’ Obasi (Fiction) – Nigeria, Senegal: Souls across three continents must confront the darkness that guards the light they seek.

Series Lab

MAD BOUNTY AND THE MIDNIGHT GUN by Talemwa Pius – Uganda: In 1885, Western Uganda, outlaw Mad Bounty hunts the British commander who killed his mother only to uncover the Midnight Gun, a native weapon of raw power. To claim it, he must outwit the British and rival factions.

MONEY TOWN by Tony Koros – Kenya: When a tech millionaire showers free money on a humble Kenyan village once held together by cups of borrowed sugar, all hell breaks loose, and only shrewd but illiterate Lel can keep the madness from boiling over. 

TILL DEATH DO US PART by Tomi Folowosele – Nigeria: A grieving woman defies an ancient rule to see her dead husband one last time, tearing open the veil between life and death and awakening something on the other side that has come to collect what is owed.

These productions have been selected from 1900 applications received from the Festival’s focus regions of the Arab World, Asia and Africa. 18 filmmakers have had their debut features selected, and over 42% of the projects are created by female filmmakers.

Holly Daniel, Red Sea Souk Director, said: “Our Souk Project Market is a vital part of the Red Sea Film Foundation’s ecosystem – acting as a vibrant hub for new voices to collaborate on innovative projects and ideas. Celebrating a five year arc of this programme also means we are welcoming back previous alumni with new work, which is a mark of the growing legacy of the Souk. This year’s selection of titles is diverse, creative and powerful and provide huge opportunities for development, and we’re looking forward to introducing them to new potential industry partners at the fifth edition of the Festival in December.”

All selected projects will be considered for the Red Sea Souk Awards provided by the Red Sea Fund. These awards offer crucial financial support at various stages of a project’s lifecycle, including development, production, and post-production.

The Red Sea Souk Project Market will take place from 6th to 10th December, 2025.