Red Sea Film Festival postponed to 2027 in stunning shake-up
The Red Sea Film Festival won’t happen this year. Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Foundation announced Sept. 21 that it has postponed the sixth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival, originally set for Dec. 3-12 in Jeddah, to the fourth quarter of 2027.
What the postponement means for the Red Sea Film Festival
The move sidelines one of the Gulf region’s biggest film events. Since the Red Sea Film Festival debuted in 2021, a few years after Saudi Arabia ended a 35-year ban on movie theaters in late 2017, it has become a magnet for major Hollywood stars. Last year’s guests included Michael Caine, Johnny Depp, Sean Baker, Juliette Binoche, Adrien Brody, Kirsten Dunst, Jessica Alba and Queen Latifah, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In its statement, the foundation did not mention the region’s conflicts. It said the decision “followed a comprehensive review of a range of considerations relating to the timing of the next edition, including the logistical requirements involved in staging an international event of this scale,” Deadline reported.
Still, the backdrop is hard to miss. The U.S. and Israeli war with Iran has raised tensions across the Gulf, and Saudi cities including Jeddah and Riyadh have been targeted by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Variety reported.
The festival has also dealt with turnover at the top. Longtime managing director Shivani Pandya Malhotra, who joined the foundation in 2019 and helped launch the event, stepped down in June, and several members of her team left with her, according to Deadline.
What insiders say about the deeper issues
Dubai-based media consultant Mazen Hayek told Variety that Saudi Arabia is prioritizing other investments, including events tied to its image and reputation. In his view, “reducing spend on a film festival” fits the current thinking in Riyadh, where Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup are the top priorities.
The festival launched as the kingdom worked to repair its reputation after the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and critics have accused Saudi Arabia of using it, along with sports and other celebrity-driven events, to polish its image, Variety noted.
Mohamed Hefzy, a prominent Egyptian producer and CEO of the Cairo-based Film Clinic, told Variety he doesn’t believe the Red Sea Film Festival will be discontinued. He expects it to become “more economical and self-sufficient in the future.”
Arab film distributor Alaa Karkouti was blunter: “You can’t keep inviting Hollywood stars forever, unless they are coming to promote a film.”
Red Sea Film Foundation CEO Faisal Baltyuor pushed back on that idea, telling Variety that Hollywood stars and international talent “will continue to be part of the festival experience.”
What comes next
The foundation says the Red Sea Film Festival will return in 2027 with “a renewed vision and a programme that continues to celebrate cinema and filmmakers from Saudi Arabia, the region and around the world.”
In the meantime, it plans to launch year-round programming in November at Culture Square in Historic Jeddah, turning the space into a regular home for screenings, cultural events and film-industry programs. The Red Sea Fund, Red Sea Labs and the foundation’s other initiatives will keep running.
The postponement also comes as the region’s festival calendar shifts. On Sept. 17, the United Arab Emirates said it would revive the Dubai International Film Festival, which hasn’t been held since 2017, with an opening set for Dec. 8, 2027. That date could put it in direct competition with the rescheduled Red Sea Film Festival. Qatar’s Doha Film Festival is still on for its second edition, Nov. 19-27.
Reporting from Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter contributed to this story.