My Driver and I” was supposed to be made in 2016, but was scuttled amid Saudi Arabia's decades-long cinema ban. Eight years later, the landscape for film in the kingdom looks much different — and the star of “My Driver and I” now has an award.

The media spotlight may have been on the raft of Hollywood A-listers hitting the fourth edition of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Festival in the port city of Jeddah over these past 10 days, but what was happening in the backdrop at its market was no less remarkable.

Tunisia director Lotfi Achour’s Red Path has won best film and director at the fourth edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival. The drama was among 15 titles from the Middle East, Africa, and,