Dakota Johnson, Jessica Alba, Ana de Armas, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kriti Sanon and more head to Red Sea Fest

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival clearly isn’t done showing off. Just when you thought the celebrity guest list couldn’t get any shinier, the fest has dropped another wave of marquee names ready to take the stage for its coveted “In Conversation” series. Gulf News will be on the ground to cover all the action.

Front and center: “Materialists” star Dakota Johnson, beauty mogul and actor Jessica Alba, and “Ballerina” lead Ana de Armas, who will trade in the red carpet for intimate sit-downs with audiences, digging into career pivots, creative instincts and all the messy, magical ways cinema continues to shape their lives.

They are joined by newly announced speakers including Oscar nominee Kirsten Dunst, “The Vampire Diaries” breakout Nina Dobrev, Academy Award–nominated multi-hyphenate Queen Latifah, Indian cinema icon Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Bollywood superstar Kriti Sanon, fresh off a string of box office successes.

The fifth edition of the Red Sea Film Festival kicks off Thursday in Jeddah and runs through Dec. 13, drawing an eclectic mix of Hollywood heavyweights, Arab artists and international auteurs.

According to organizers, the “In Conversation” guests will “share insights and have meaningful discussions about their practice, passions and stories with fans, cinema lovers and industry executives.”

They join a long list of headline attendees, including fellow “In Conversation” speakers Adrien Brody, Sean Baker and “The Voice of Hind Rajab” director Kaouther Ben Hania. Festival honorees this year include screen legends Michael Caine, Sigourney Weaver, Juliette Binoche, filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb and action maestro Stanley Tong.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Sean Baker (“Anora”) will also preside as jury president. The festival’s International Spectacular slate features Angelina Jolie’s “Couture,” “The Wizard of the Kremlin” starring Jude Law and Paul Dano, and Rupert Wyatt’s “Desert Warrior,” led by Ben Kingsley and Anthony Mackie.

Opening the festival out of competition is Rowan Athale’s boxing biopic “Giant,” with Amir El-Masry as legendary British-Yemeni featherweight champion “Prince” Naseem Hamed, and Pierce Brosnan as his trainer.

Gulf News will be covering the fifth edition of the Red Sea International Fil Festival ... Stay tuned.