Red Sea Fund backs 30 films as Jeddah festival takes a year off
The Red Sea Fund has named 30 projects across its first two funding rounds of 2026, in an announcement reported by Deadline on 29 September.
The money is split by stage of work. Cycle 1 was reserved for post-production, the editing, sound and colour work after a shoot, and picked 13 titles from a record 220 submissions, according to the same report. Cycle 2 was reserved for production, the shoot itself, and picked 17 titles from 696 submissions.
The production list reaches across regions. It includes Gaza Forever by Palestinian twin directors Tarzan and Arab Nasser, Tarfaya, an apocalyptic science-fiction drama by French-Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui, and Lotus Feet by Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu, all named by Deadline.
Lotus Feet is Eu's first feature since her 2023 debut Tiger Stripes. The Nasser brothers arrive with recent Cannes recognition, having won the Un Certain Regard Director Award, a prize in the festival's sidebar section, for Once Upon A Time In Gaza in 2025.
Five Saudi projects feature in the Cycle 2 selection. They are Remind Me to Forget by Lama Jamjoom, Green Corpse by Khaled Zidan, Maria's Mansion by Raed Alsemari, Bait Bahar by Yaser Hammad and Microwave by Mishary Almazyaad.
Other filmmakers in the announcement also come with fresh festival pedigree. Marie Clementine Dusabejambo's Ben'imana won the Camera d'Or, the Cannes prize for best first feature, at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
The funding news follows the Red Sea Film Foundation's decision to cancel the 2026 edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival, also reported by Deadline. The event had been due to take place in Jeddah in December. It would have been the festival's sixth edition, scheduled for 3 to 12 December, according to Variety, which reported the festival is set to return in the fourth quarter of 2027.
What makes this stand out for viewers is the pipeline it points to. Films backed at shoot or edit stage often take a year or more to reach cinemas and festivals.
The Fund, led by Red Sea Film Foundation chief executive Faisal Baltyuor, provides financing for Arab, African and Asian films after expanding eligibility to Asia. It has supported more than 280 projects with $15 million in grants, according to its own programme page. The initiative began life as a $10 million fund for Arab and African filmmakers, announced in June 2021.
