The first two funding cycles of 2026 drew 916 submissions and support 13 post-production and 17 production projects from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, Africa and Asia, including five Saudi titles
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 28 September 2026: The Red Sea Fund, a programme of the Red Sea Film Foundation, has announced 30 selected projects across its first two funding cycles of 2026, drawn from 916 submissions and continuing its year-round commitment to supporting distinctive filmmakers and stories from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, Africa and Asia.
Six of the Cycle 1 post-production titles have already premiered internationally. Ben’imana by Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo won the Caméra d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it screened in Un Certain Regard alongside Strawberries by Laïla Marrakchi. At the Toronto International Film Festival, Angh by Theja Rio won the Platform Award, world premiering alongside Four Seasons in Java by Kamila Andini. Al Baraneya by Ashgan El-Hamus screened in Venice, while Lê Bảo’s Hearing competed at the Locarno Film Festival.
Cycle 1, dedicated to projects in post-production, received 220 submissions — the highest number for a post-production cycle since the inception of the Fund, and one of its most competitive to date — with 13 projects ultimately selected.
Cycle 2, dedicated to projects in production, received 696 submissions, with 17 projects ultimately selected, spanning feature fiction, feature documentary and short fiction.
Five Saudi projects feature among the Cycle 2 selections: 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.
Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “These two cycles reflect exactly what the Red Sea Fund is here to do: identify bold, distinctive projects and support filmmakers at critical stages of their journey. The international momentum already building around several Cycle 1 titles is a strong testament to the calibre of the work, and we are excited to see the Cycle 2 projects continue that journey.”
Together, the two cycles reflect the Red Sea Fund’s continued commitment to providing meaningful, year-round support to filmmakers at critical stages of their creative journeys, helping ambitious projects progress from production through completion and ultimately connect with audiences on the international stage.
Full list of selected projects
CYCLE 1: POST-PRODUCTION (13 projects)
Hearing
Director: Lê Bảo | Producers: Elizabeth Wijaya, Weijie Lai, Thi Bao Yen Huynh | Countries: Vietnam, Singapore, France, Norway, Indonesia, Taiwan, China
Who Stole My Cross?
Director: Park Syeyoung | Producers: Park Syeyoung, Philippe Bober | Countries: South Korea, Germany
Al Baraneya
Director: Ashgan El-Hamus | Producers: Frank Hoeve, Kesmat El Sayed | Country: Egypt
Ben’imana
Director: Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo | Producers: Samantha Biffot, Marie-Epiphanie Uwayezu |
Country: Rwanda
Angh
Director: Theja Rio | Producers: Nancy Beso, Jai Rodgers | Country: India
Bells of Kabul
Director: Chabname Zariab | Producers: Lou Chicoteau, Jean-Etienne Brat | Countries: France, Germany,
Belgium
Four Seasons in Java
Director: Kamila Andini | Producer: Ifa Isfansyah | Country: Indonesia
Grey Glow
Director: Michèle Tyan | Producer: Sabine Sidawi | Countries: Lebanon, France, Qatar
Selvi
Director: Sailesh Rathnakumar | Producer: Anjali Patil | Country: India
Guardian of the Island
Director: Sewmehon Yismaw Sendekie | Producer: Tamirat Mekonen Teklu | Country: Ethiopia
On the Donkey Route
Director: Ahmad Al-Bazz | Producer: Ameen Nayfeh | Countries: Palestine, Canada
Tomorrow Will Be Rain…
Director: Cemal Alomar | Producers: Orwa Hamadallah, Cemal Alomar | Countries: Syria, Turkey, United
Kingdom
Strawberries
Director: Laïla Marrakchi | Producers: Saïd Hamich Benlarbi, Juliette Schrameck, Adria Monés, Elisa
Heene | Countries: Morocco, Spain, France, Belgium
CYCLE 2: PRODUCTION (17 projects)
Remind Me to Forget
Director: Lama Jamjoom | Producers: Mawadda Sallam, Maryam Sindi, Lama Jamjoom | Country: Saudi
Arabia
Daughters of the Sea
Director: Martika Escobar | Producers: Monster Jimenez, Rajiv Idnani, Alba Sotorra | Country: Philippines
The Northern Bald Ibis
Director: Ameer Fakher Eldin | Producer: Dorothe Beinemeier | Countries: Germany, Lebanon,
Luxembourg
Hum
Director: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan | Producers: Hannah Schierbeek, Alemberg Ang | Country:
Philippines
Pieces
Director: Imran Hamdulay | Producer: Adam Thal | Country: South Africa
Gaza Forever
Directors: Tarzan Nasser, Arab Nasser | Producers: Rashid Abdelhamid, Hugo Legrand-Nathan, Yacine
Medkour | Countries: Palestine, Jordan, France
Lotus Feet
Director: Amanda Eu | Producer: Fei Ling Foo | Country: Malaysia
The Side Effects of Trusting Life
Director: Ahmad Ghossein | Producer: Georges Schoucair | Countries: Lebanon, Germany, Norway
Green Corpse
Director: Khaled Zidan | Producer: Bakr Alduhaim | Country: Saudi Arabia
The Scapegoat
Director: Yılmaz Özdil | Producers: Mehmet Aktaş, Marylou Ribes, Emre Kayış | Country: Turkey
Leg
Director: Shokir Kholikov | Producer: Aigerim Satybaldy | Countries: Kazakhstan, Italy
The Last Oasis
Director: Zhengyu Shao | Producer: Xiao Xu | Country: China
Maria’s Mansion
Director: Raed Alsemari | Producers: Amri Rae Cacanindin, Sara Almodaimigh | Country: Saudi Arabia
Let Us Fight
Director: Eli Maene | Producer: Maisha Maene | Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tarfaya
Directors: Sofia Alaoui, Annabella Nezri | Producers: Sofia Alaoui, Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barral,
Annabella Nezri | Country: Morocco
Bait Bahar
Director: Yaser Hammad | Producers: Mohamed Kordofani, Khalid Awad | Country: Saudi Arabia
Microwave
Director: Mishary Almazyaad | Producer: Sagda Alnoor | Country: Saudi Arabia
Red Sea Fund Backs 30 Projects As Cycle 1 Titles Take Cannes’ Caméra D’or And TIFF’s Platform Award
Red Sea Film Foundation Announces The Postponement Of The Sixth Edition Of The Red Sea International Film Festival To 2027
