Rekha and Muzaffar Ali’s Indian Classic ‘Umrao Jaan’ Set for Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival Treasures Strand

Indian director Muzaffar Ali‘s freshly restored 1981 classic “Umrao Jaan” will be shown outside the country for the first time at Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival, which has unveiled the lineup of its Treasures strand dedicated to six classic international and Arab films.

“Umrao Jaan,” starring susperstar Rekha in her Indian National Film Award-winning performance as a courtesan-poetess in 19th-century Lucknow, has been restored by the National Film Development Corporation-National Film Archive of India under the National Film Heritage Mission.

Other titles in the Treasures section comprise Alfred Hitchcock’s 1944 psychological thriller “Spellbound,” starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, which marks the Red Sea fest’s first film from Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation dedicated to global cinema preservation. Then there is Luc Besson’s 1988 cult diving epic “The Big Blue,” making its big-screen debut in Saudi Arabia. For the fest’s first-ever silent film spectacular, the U.K.’s silent film musical specialist Neil Brand will be providing live accompaniment to three silent slapstick shorts from Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy.

The Treasures strand will also feature two films by Egyptian director Ahmed Badrakhan, both starring Egyptian singer-actress and international icon Umm Kulthum, considered the Arab world’s greatest singer. Fresh from their restoration by the Red Sea Film Foundation and Egypt’s Media City, Badrakhan’s “Aida” (1942) and “Song of Hope” (1937) will be shown at the Red Sea fest as 4K restored copies for the first time.

“This year’s Treasures lineup spotlights true legends of film, showcasing moments and performances which are immortalized in the cinematic canon brought back to life for local and international audiences,” said Red Sea Film Foundation CEO Faisal Baltyuor in a statement. “All of the titles selected broke new ground with their original releases, and it’s a particular privilege to have played a part in the restoration of two of Umm Kulthum’s most memorable performances, as part of our ongoing commitment to bringing the best of cinema to Saudi Arabia.”

The fifth edition of the fest will run Dec. 4-13 in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore.