Red Sea Film: the Saudi Festival and its foundation are co-producing Maïwenn's next film

The Red Sea International Film Festival and its foundation announced on Thursday, January 12 that they are co-producing a French film, Jeanne du Barry, for the first time, by and with Maïwenn, as well as Johnny Depp. "We hope that this collaboration will strengthen the ties between Saudi and French cinemas" and that this project will be "the first of many international films that we can support that advocate for female directors," Mohammed Al Turki, director of the Red Sea International Film Festival, the Saudi film festival associated with the Red Sea Film Foundation, said in a press release.

No amount was specified and the French production company of the film, Why Not Productions, did not wish to answer questions from AFP on this support from an ultra-conservative monarchy, pointed out by activists and where movie theaters were banned until April 2018. According to the statement, the Saudis will serve as executive producers.

The film, shot in France and currently in post-production, explores the figure of Jeanne du Barry, the favorite of King Louis XV, who will be interpreted by the director herself. The film is also anticipated, because it marks the return to the screens of Johnny Depp, after a highly publicized legal soap opera which pitted him against his ex-wife Amber Heard. The former star of Pirates of the Caribbean will interpret the French sovereign, alongside French actors such as Pierre Richard, Benjamin Lavernhe, Noémie Lvovsky and India Hair. The film does not yet have a release date in France, and must then be broadcast by Netflix.

The Red Sea International Film Festival was inaugurated in 2021 in Jeddah with the aim of making cinema a new lucrative industry for the Saudi kingdom, and stated that it has already helped in the production of 170 films in the Arab world and in Africa.