Red Sea Film Fest Unveils Competition Line-up; Sets ‘Giant’ As Opening Film

Red Sea International Film Festival (December 4-13) has announced the 16 titles in the competition section for its fifth edition, which focuses on films from Asia and Africa, including the Arab world, as well as its opening film and other major sections.
 
The festival, which takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will open on December 4 with US-UK production Giant, directed by UK-Indian filmmaker Rowan Athale, a biopic of British-Yemeni boxing champion Prince Naseem ‘Naz’ Hamed, starring Egyptian-British actor Amir El Masry.
 
Seven titles in competition have been supported by the Red Sea Film Foundation’s ecosystem, including Saudi director Shahad Ameen’s Hijra; A Sad And Beautiful World, from Lebanon’s Cyril Aris; Zain Duraie’s Jordan-set debut Sink (Subj); and Roqia, directed by Yanis Koussim, set in Algeria’s Black Decade. Also supported by the Red Sea Film Foundation are adult animation Allah Is Not Obliged, which premiered in Annecy, and Kenyan documentary Truck Mama.
 
Other highlights of the competition include Somalian drama Barni from Mohammed Sheikh, Chinese director Zhang Zhongchen’s Nighttime Sounds, which recently won best director in the Chinese competition of Pingyao International Film Festival, and Korean drama The World Of Love, which marks the first Korean title in competition at the festival.
 
The non-competitive Arab Spectacular section includes titles such as Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36, which won best film at this year’s Tokyo film festival, Haifaa Al Mansour’s Unidentified and Anas Ba-Tahaf’s A Matter Of Life And Death, a Saudi love story set in the festival’s home of Jeddah. The International Spectacular titles include Alice Winocour’s Couture, Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet and Rupert Wyatt’s Desert Warrior, which was filmed in Saudi.
 
The festival’s line-up also includes special screenings of two films that have both been selected for their significant impact on the cinematic landscape in 2025: Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice Of Hind Rajab and Oliver Laxe’s Sirat.
 
Antoine Khalife, Director of Arab Programmes and Film Classics, said: “We are expanding the perception of what Arab cinema can be with our 2025 Competition programme – selecting titles that are deeply rooted in their regions yet universal in feeling. We're thrilled to be bringing the very best of filmmaking from the region, including the Saudi film Hijra, as part of a lineup that is reshaping our collective narrative by vital telling stories of resilience, migration, identity and transformation with urgency and clarity.”
 
Fionnuala Halligan, Director Of International Programs, said: ‘Focused as we are on films from Asia and Africa for our Competition selection, we see this year a theme of being lost and found – evidently in films like Barni, from Somalia, which focuses on a missing girl, to the plight of the Rohingya in Lost Land.
 
“We are delighted to welcome our first ever Korean film in Competition, The World Of Love, alongside titles from China, Tajikistan and Kenya, complementing our wider programme of films from across the globe and continuing our commitment to creating cultural exchange through the medium of film.”

RED SEA IFF 2025 COMPETITION: 

All That's Left Of You (Germany, Greece, Jordan, Cyprus, Palestine)
Dir: Cherien Dabis

Allah Is Not Obliged (France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Canada, Saudi Arabia)
Dir: Zaven Najjar
[Animation]

Barni (Somalia, Djibouti, US)
Dir: Mohammed Sheikh

Black Rabbit, White Rabbit (Tajikistan, UAE)
Dir: Shahram Mokri

Hijra (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, UK)
Dir: Shahad Ameen

Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream (Iraq, UK, France, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
Dir: Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji

Lost Land (Japan, France, Malaysia, Germany)
Dir: Akio Fujimoto

Nighttime Sounds (China)
Dir: Zhang Zhongchen

Roqia (France, Algeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
Dir: Yanis Koussim

A Sad And Beautiful World (Lebanon, US, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
Dir: Cyril Aris

Sink (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France)
Dir: Zain Duraie

The Stories (Egypt, France, Austria, Sweden)
Dir: Abu Bakr Shawky

Truck Mama (Kenya, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands)
Dir: Zippy Nyaruri
[Documentary]

Two Seasons, Two Strangers (Japan)
Dir: Sho Miyake

The World Of Love (South Korea)
Dir: Yoon Ga-Eun

Yunan (Germany, Canada, Italy, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia)
Dir: Ameer Fakher Eldin