Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival unveils new dates

Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival has confirmed it will take place in November in Jeddah after it was postponed last March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to organizers.

“The 1st edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will take place from the 11th to the 20th of November 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 10-day Festival looks at how cinema has successfully adapted from analog to digital and to the new platforms delivering content. It will also focus on the changing role of women in cinema,” organizers said in a released statement.

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The inaugural edition of the Festival will take place in the UNESCO world heritage site of Jeddah Old Town in the cosmopolitan city on the Red Sea Coast.

“The physical event looks to life beyond the Coronavirus pandemic that postponed the Festival's debut in March 2020 and will bring together local film lovers, filmmakers, and international industry leaders,” organizers said.

The festival is being organized by a team of Saudi Arabian and international curators, film specialists, and industry veterans, including Managing Director Shivani Pandya and Director of Arab Programs and Film Classics Antoine Khalife – both formerly of the Dubai International Film Festival.

This year’s inaugural festival’s theme will be "Metamorphosis" as it “celebrates cinema as a force for positive change.”

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