What To Know
- She also reflected on her career, including her Oscar nomination, and gave a shoutout to early 2000s female artists like Aaliyah and Ashanti, highlighting how women have long paved the way in music and storytelling.
- Queen Latifah isn’t just an icon—she’s a mentor, a powerhouse, and a champion for women and diverse voices.
- The Oscar-nominated actor and music legend took the stage for the festival’s “In Conversation” series and straight up put the spotlight on what Hollywood—and the world—needs more of.
Queen Latifah was all kinds of inspiring at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah this week, and she wasn’t holding back. The Oscar-nominated actor and music legend took the stage for the festival’s “In Conversation” series and straight up put the spotlight on what Hollywood—and the world—needs more of: women.
Asked about untapped talent, Latifah didn’t hesitate. “Women. Be honest. Women,” she said, driving home the point that supporting women in film, music, and storytelling is not just nice—it’s essential. She even pointed to Saudi Arabia’s progress, where women in the workforce shot up from 7% to 38% in just five years. “That’s a healthy ecosystem. You should not resist,” she added, tying it all back to creativity, life, and yes—hip hop.
Latifah also highlighted her Queen Collective, a production initiative backing women of color directors from their 20s to their 50s. “We find directors who can tell stories that haven’t been told yet,” she explained. From short films about small details like gaps in teeth to bigger cultural narratives, Latifah is giving talented women the tools to share stories the world hasn’t seen.
And it wasn’t just about women. When the conversation turned to AI and tech, she kept it real. “Nothing replaces living life. You can’t fake the quirks, the gestures, the tiny details that make a story real,” she said, urging creatives to embrace innovation but never lose that human touch.
She also reflected on her career, including her Oscar nomination, and gave a shoutout to early 2000s female artists like Aaliyah and Ashanti, highlighting how women have long paved the way in music and storytelling.
By the end of her talk, one thing was crystal clear: Queen Latifah isn’t just an icon—she’s a mentor, a powerhouse, and a champion for women and diverse voices. Her advice? “Stay strong, remember your history, honor your brilliance, and go for it. Don’t be afraid. Your spirit is stronger than anything that’s written down.”
Red Sea International Film Festival runs Dec. 4–13, and Latifah’s talk was just the start of the star-studded lineup.
