The Red Sea International Film Festival () is a film festival launched in 2019 and held in Jeddah, the port city in western Saudi Arabia. The festival mainly focuses on new storytelling trends, as well as emerging talents from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world and the rest of the world.
The festivalâÂÂs fifth edition in 2025 will take place from December 4 to 13 at JeddahâÂÂs historic Al Balad district.
The Red Sea International Film Festival was established in 2019, as a plan to revive Saudi cinema. Originally scheduled to launch in March 2020, it was cancelled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. It inaugurated its first edition in November 2021, with the selection of Joe Wright's Cyrano.
The festival is organized and operated by the Red Sea Film Festival Foundation, a non-profit cultural organization registered in Saudi Arabia. The Foundation is chaired by Jomana Alrashid; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Saudi Research and MediaàGroupàâÂÂàSRMG.
The festival is known for drawing a wide list of A-list Hollywood celebrities, with Variety reporting that in 2023 Will Smith and Gwyneth Paltrow were paid $1 million or more to make an appearance.
The first edition of the festival opened on 6 December 2021 with Joe Wright's Cyrano at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 138 films from 67 countries were screened at the festival, which included 16 films in competition section. It closed on 15 December with the world premiere of Kabir Khan's film 83. The event came after several boycott calls by the critics, who warned that the Saudi authorities were attempting to divert the international attention from the country's poor human rights records. The Kingdom was being accused of using culture to whitewash its image at a global level. One of the critics said that without freedom of speech, the festival descended into propaganda.
Spike Lee served as Jury President. Notable attendees included Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeremy Renner, Michael Douglas, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hala Elkoussy, Sarah Friedland, Kathleen Chalfant, Lawrence Valin and R.T. Thorne.
The 5th edition of the festival is taking place from 4 to 13 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It will screen 100+ films around 70 countries. 2025 biographical sports drama film Giant of the boxer Prince Naseem Hamed by Rowan Athale was the opening film of the festival. Sean Baker is serving as Jury President.
French actress Juliette Binoche, French film director and producer Rachid Bouchareb, English actor Michael Caine Hong Kong film director, producer, stunt choreographer, screenwriter, entrepreneur and philanthropist Stanley Tong and American actress Sigourney Weaver were recognised for their contributions to cinema throughout their careers. The Golden Globes awarded Indian actress Alia Bhatt the Golden Globes Horizon Award and Tunisian actress Hend Sabry the Omar Sharif Award for their contributions to international cinema.
The following are award winners of this edition:
Red Sea: Competition
Red Sea: Shorts Competition
Other awards