New dates announced for Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival

Saudi Arabia’s new Red Sea International Film Festival is all set to take place in November, Variety reported.

“The first edition’s theme will be Metamorphosis, which will celebrate the role of cinema as a force for positive change,” said the event’s organisers in a statement.

It is Saudi’s first full-fledged film festival that will attract an international market. The festival will start November 11 and last two days in Jeddah, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with a partly renewed team.

“The theme also reflects on the impact of cinema’s triumphant return to Saudi Arabia since 2019, as well as blossoming local and regional film scenes.”

The festival will also examine how cinema can connect a new, outward-looking Saudi and the world.

Movie-going is on the rise in Saudi after the country lifted a religion-related ban on cinemas in 2017.

The festival’s senior management team has an equal gender split.