Oscar Isaac, Millie Bobby Brown among stars at Joy Awards in Riyadh

(17 Jan 2026)
ASSOCIATED PRESS -
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - 17 January 2026
1. Various of Oscar Isaac
2. Various of Millie Bobby Brown
3. Wide shot Lee Byung-hun
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Lee Byung-hun, actor:
"I'm so happy that I could see every, great filmmakers here. I heard there are a lot of talented actors and filmmakers, so I'm so excited to see them."
5. Medium shot Lee Byung-hun
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Lee Byung-hun, actor:
"Yeah, we're going all the Oscar campaign now and it's been already a few months and we have to wait until 22nd of January for the announced of Oscar. So , yeah, that's all I can do now."
7. Various of Alexander Ludwig
8. Various of Forest Whitaker
9. Wide shot Baris Arduc
10. Various of Bassem Youssef
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Bassem Youssef, comedian:
"In a way, yes . In a way, yes. But you know everything has a price and you win some, you lose some. You gain a lot of popularity and you lose some of the deals because of the powers that be. so that's how work goes."
12. Various of Lee Jung-jae
13. Various of Liz Mitchell
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Liz Mitchell, recording artist:
"Wow, it's amazing. I am very , very happy to be here amongst all the wonderful artists that are here and this whole arrangement, I think , it's just wonderful."
15. Various of Meryem Uzerli
16. Wide shot Mohamed Farag and Passant Shawky
17. Various of Peter Mensah
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Mensah, actor:
"It's amazing. It's my first time here. I have to say it's impressive. I, this is, this is as big as Hollywood."
19. Close-up Asmaa Jalal
20. Medium shot Abdel Moneim Amiry
21. Medium shot Maged El Masry and Rana Atiyeh
22. Wide shot Il DIvo
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Il Devo, recording artists:
Sébastien Izambard: "it's a start for us and hopefully we're going to some music, you know , to everyone here this evening, and it would be wonderful . I mean , just the way you do things here makes everyone's production shy."
Steven LaBrie: "Yeah , we have some tours coming up in the US and in Japan. So we're pretty busy until midyear and then yeah..."
Urs Bühler: "Then we come back soon to Saudi Arabia."
24. Medium shot Amal Arafa
25. Wide shot Hend Sabry
26. Various of Joy Awards 2026 signages
STORYLINE:
The Joy Awards returned to Riyadh on Satuirday night for its 2026 edition, bringing together a glittering line-up of international stars, Arab celebrities, and entertainment industry heavyweights to celebrate achievements in cinema, television, music and sports.

Held under the banner of Saudi Arabia's ongoing cultural transformation, the ceremony featured appearances by Hollywood and global names including Oscar Isaac, Millie Bobby Brown, Forest Whitaker, Lee Byung-hun, and Alexander Ludwig, alongside Arab stars such as Hend Sabry, Mohamed Farag, Passant Shawky, and Maged El Masry.

Korean actor Lee Byung-hun expressed his excitement on the purple carpet.

“I’m so happy I could see so many great filmmakers here,” he said. “There are a lot of talented actors and filmmakers. I’m excited to meet them.”

The evemt also saw the arrival of Bassem Youssef, the Egyptian satirist and television host who addressed the complexities of maintaining artistic freedom.

“Everything has a price — you win some, you lose some,” he said. “You gain a lot of popularity and lose some deals because of the powers that be. That’s how work goes.”

From the music world, former Boney M singer Liz Mitchell praised the evening’s energy.

“It’s amazing. I am very, very happy to be here among all these wonderful artists. This whole arrangement is just wonderful.”







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