Red Sea International Film Festival

The Red Sea International Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in the historic district of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its establishment was announced in 2019 as the first Saudi international platform dedicated to supporting the production and screening of films, and in the same year the Red Sea Film Lab was launched as the first national programme for developing film projects.[1]

The Red Sea Film Foundation was established in 2019 to nurture creative talent through film screenings, seminars, workshops, exhibitions and archiving, and to host film enthusiasts, filmmakers and film industry professionals from around the world.[2]

The year 2018 marked a turning point in the course of cinema in the Kingdom, with the opening of cinemas and the inclusion of the film industry among the targeted sectors of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, and the film industry witnessed growth in production and infrastructure.[1]

On 27 June 2019, the festival announced its inaugural edition, scheduled to be held from 12 to 21 March 2020 in the historic district of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, under the leadership of festival director Mahmoud Sabbagh.[3]

The inaugural edition was held from 11 to 20 November 2021 in Historic Jeddah and lasted ten days.[2]

Films taking part in the festival compete for the Yusr Awards, including the Golden Yusr Award for Best Feature Film, valued at USD 100,000, alongside awards for Best Director, the jury prize and Best Short Film.[4]

The second edition opened on 1 December 2022 and ran until 10 December, with the participation of 61 countries from around the world.[5]

The second edition screened 131 films, spanning short and feature-length fiction from emerging and distinguished talent, and the opening ceremony honoured the artist Yousra with the Golden Yusr Honorary Award, along with British director Guy Ritchie and Indian star Shah Rukh Khan for their contributions to the film industry.[5]

The fourth edition was held from 5 to 14 December 2024 in the Al-Balad district of Historic Jeddah, and American Oscar-winning director Spike Lee chaired its jury.[6]

The fifth edition was held from 4 to 13 December 2025 in Historic Jeddah, and the festival unveiled the Red Sea Treasures programme, which showcases a selection of works from Arab and world cinema, alongside the first silent film screening on the history of the Kingdom.[7]

The sixth edition is scheduled to be held in Jeddah from 3 to 12 December 2026, with the Projects Market running from 5 to 9 December 2026.[8]

The festival brought its fifth edition to a close on 14 December 2025, affirming its standing as a leading international film platform that attracted a broad spectrum of cinematic works and filmmakers from around the world, along with a notable public turnout of cinema enthusiasts.[1]

The Red Sea Souk concluded on 6 December 2022 on the sidelines of the second edition with the announcement of the winners of its competition awards. The Souk is a pivotal platform for discovering the talent, projects and ideas that shape the film industry in the Kingdom, the Arab world and Africa, and the Red Sea Fund and the sponsoring entities contributed 24 awards for the Lab and Red Sea Souk projects.[9]

The Projects Market at the fifth edition presented 28 awards covering the categories of projects in development, works in progress and series, with the participation of filmmakers from the Arab world, Africa and Asia, and a total value exceeding two million Saudi riyals.[10]

Red Sea Labs is a global film-industry platform established in 2021 to support and develop the film industry in Saudi Arabia, the Arab region and the world. Among its programmes is the Lodge, which runs for six months and comprises 16 carefully selected film projects whose participants receive the financial and technical support needed to complete their projects, aiming to develop Arab, African and Asian projects from the idea stage to the screening stage.[11]

The Cultural Fund sponsored the Red Sea Souk at the fourth edition in 2024, the third consecutive sponsorship within an ongoing partnership with the festival. It received visitors from around the world at its main pavilion and showcased its financing and development solutions supporting the growth of filmmakers' projects, and it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Red Sea Film Foundation for the joint financing of film industry projects.[12]

The festival continues to consolidate its standing as a regional platform supporting the film industry by empowering creative talent and connecting it with global production and distribution networks, contributing to the cultural movement and the creative content industry, in line with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 for developing the cultural sector and strengthening the creative economy.[8]

Q: What is the Red Sea International Film Festival? A: It is an international film festival held annually in the historic district of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whose establishment was announced in 2019.[1]

Q: When did the festival's editions begin? A: The inaugural edition was held from 11 to 20 November 2021 in Historic Jeddah, and the second edition opened on 1 December 2022 and ran until 10 December with the participation of 61 countries.[2][5]

Q: What are the festival's most prominent awards? A: The Golden Yusr Award for Best Feature Film, valued at USD 100,000, alongside awards for Best Director, the jury prize and Best Short Film.[4]

Q: Where are the festival's editions held? A: In Historic Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including the Al-Balad district that hosted the fourth edition in 2024.[2][6]

Q: When will the sixth edition be held? A: From 3 to 12 December 2026 in the city of Jeddah, with the Projects Market running from 5 to 9 December 2026.[8]

The Red Sea International Film Festival brings together its location in Historic Jeddah, its annual editions that have attracted filmmakers from around the world, its competitions and awards that support talent, and its Souk and Labs that anchor the film industry in the Kingdom in line with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.[1][4][10] Related topics on the platform include Historic Jeddah, Jeddah, Jeddah Season, The Red Sea Project and Saudi Vision 2030.