Rules & regulations

Mission & Objective 

The Red Sea Film Foundation Festival is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting film culture in Saudi Arabia.

The Foundation champions the Kingdom’s burgeoning film scene by nurturing audience engagement, supporting filmmakers and developing a robust film industry.

The Foundation’s three core initiatives: It is dedicated to supporting its national storytellers, highlighting its distinctive local narratives and driving a sustainable film ecosystem.

Film submissions for the 3^rd edition of Red Sea International Film Festival “RSIFF”, running from November 30 – December 9, 2023, will open from 5 May to 18th August 2023. There is no submission fee.

Below are the rules and regulations that submitted films must adhere to when submitting to the RSIFF.

RSIFF is only accepting submissions for the following sections:

• Red Sea: Competition
• Red Sea: Shorts Competition
• New Saudi/New Cinema Features and Shorts

RSIFF’s programmers curate all other sections at RSIFF.

Red Sea In-Competition Program: General Eligibility

• Red Sea In-Competition program consists of two sections:
  • Red Sea: Competition
  • Red Sea: Shorts Competition
• Red Sea In-Competition program is open for African and Asian (as shown in Appendix 1), including Arabic feature and short fiction, animation and documentary films.
• A film’s nationality is determined by any of the following factors:
  • The country/countries where the funding originates.
  • Location of the production linked to tax breaks or funding.
  • The nationality of the director(s) and/or producer(s).
• Films must be produced during the 12 months preceding the Festival dates.
• The Festival supports films by emerging artists. But films by established filmmakers are also welcomed to the competition.
• Films must not have been entirely or partially broadcast and/or made available on any television, the internet, mobile phones and/or any other public viewing platform worldwide until after the 3^rd edition of RSIFF closes on 9th December, 2023.
• All films must be submitted in their original language. If the original language of the film is not in English, the film must be subtitled in English.

Red Sea: Competition 

• Feature-length films are those that equal to or exceed 60 minutes in duration.
• Films must be Middle East and Arab Premieres (as shown in Appendix 2). By this, we ask that films have not been presented in any public event in the Arab region, including festival screenings or at any international film festival primarily focused on screening Arab films.

Red Sea: Shorts Competition 

• Short length films are defined as those that do not exceed 59 minutes.
• Preference will be given to films that are World or International Premieres.
• Films must be Middle East and Arab Premieres (as shown in Appendix 2). By this, we ask that films have not been presented in any public event in the Arab region, including festival screenings or at any international film festival primarily focused on screening Arab films.
• Films made by a film school or Arab film institution are allowed. Independent productions and co-productions are also welcomed.

Red Sea Out-of-Competition Program

Submissions are only open for New Saudi/New Cinema Feature and Short Film sections.

New Saudi/New Cinema Features and Shorts

• Designed to celebrate new Saudi film productions.
• This section is open to fiction, documentary, and animated films.
• Films that have been produced during the 12 months preceding the Festival.
• Films must be produced by a Saudi team, with the lead creatives being from KSA. Films must be produced in and /or shot in KSA.
• Films should not be released in Saudi cinemas. Films that have had a Saudi release may be selected in market screenings.
• Films must not have been entirely or partially broadcasted and/or made available on any television, the internet, mobile phones and/or any other public viewing platform worldwide until the 2nd edition of RSIFF closes on 10th December, 2023.
• Open to emerging and established directors.

Red Sea Awards

Selected films at The Red Sea International Film Festival will compete for the below awards:

• The Yusr Awards
• Best Saudi Film
• Audience Award

The award-winners and distribution companies agree to use the exact wording of the awards as sent out in the guidelines of RSIFF.

The Yusr Awards

Films selected for Red Sea: Competition and Red Sea: Shorts Competition will compete for the following Yusr Awards:
1) Red Sea: Competition

• Yusr Award for Best Feature Film (Trophy and USD 100,000): The prize will be split between the director(s) and producer(s) of the winning film.
• Yusr Award for Best Director (Trophy and USD 30,000): The prize will be awarded to the director(s) of the winning film.
• Yusr Jury Award (Trophy and USD 20,000): The prize will be shared between the director(s) and producer(s) of the winning film.
• Yusr Award for Best Screenplay (Trophy)
• Yusr Award for Best Actor (Trophy)
• Yusr Award for Best Actress (Trophy)
• Yusr Award for Best Cinematic Achievement (Trophy)
• The Golden Immersive Yusr (Trophy and USD 10,000)
• The Silver Immersive Yusr (Trophy)

2) Red Sea: Shorts Competition

• Golden Yusr for Best Short Film (Trophy and USD 25,000): The prize is awarded as financing for the director(s) next film, which must carry RSIFF logo.
• Silver Yusr for a Short Film (Trophy and USD 12,500): The prize is awarded as financing for the director(s) next film, which must carry RSIFF logo.

Best Saudi Film

All Saudi films (features and shorts) selected in the Official Program (In-Competitions and Out-of-Competition program) are eligible for the Best Saudi Film voted by the audience.
The Best Saudi Film (USD 50,000): The prize will be split between the director(s) and producer(s) of the winning film.

Audience Award

All feature films selected in the following sections are eligible for the Audience Award:
– Red Sea: Competition
– Spectacular
– New Saudi/New Cinema Features
– Children And Teens
–Red Sea: New Vision
The Audience Award will be voted for by the attendees of the festival: The prize will be split between the director(s) and producer(s) of the winning film.

Selection Committee and Jury

• The relevant RSIFF selection committee will review all films and will have the final decision on whether the film will be part of the Competition program or Out-of-Competition Program selections irrespective of the category it has been submitted.
• Competition Program Jury: RSIFF will solely appoint two separate juries from the film community to decide on prize winners for the Yusr Awards.
• No person having taken part in the production or exploitation of a film in competition may be on the Jury.
  • The Jury for the Red Sea: Competition section will comprise five members
  • The Jury for the Red Sea: Shorts Competition section will comprise three members

Submissions: General Rules & Regulations

• Deadline: Entries of online submission forms in English and/or Arabic and film viewing copies must be completed and submitted by 18th August 2023.
• Any submissions received after 18th August 2023 will not be accepted.
• All films must be submitted in their original language. If the original language of the film is not in English, the viewing copy must be subtitled in English.
• If the film is a “work-in-progress”, please ensure that this is clearly stated on the submission form with the final title of the film and not the working title. For the avoidance of doubt, all other terms related to submissions shall be herein applicable.
• All viewing copies and/or material should be added to the submission form only. Please note The Red Sea International Film Festival will not accept DVDs or any physical format as a viewing copy for submissions purposes.
• The viewing copies (screeners) are shared with the relevant selection committee for viewing and assessment purposes.
• If you have any queries about the film submissions, please email RSIFF submissions team: [email protected]

Selected Films

The spirit of the festival: The Festival focuses attention on works of quality in order to contribute to the evolution of audio-visual arts in Saudi Arabia and the region.

If a film is selected for the Official Program, RSIFF will send an official selection letter by October 2023 and will advise of further requirements and next steps.

All films must be submitted in their original language. If the original language of the film is not in English, the film must be subtitled in English.

All films with dialogues in a language different from Arabic and English will be electronically subtitled in these two languages. The rights holders must provide a time-coded dialogue list.

RSIFF hereby reserves the first right to announce the Official Program. Prior to the official announcement made by RSIFF, all those associated with the film selected shall not publicly announce directly or indirectly confirm that the film is part of the Official Program.

The Official Program will be announced by November 2023.

If a film has not been selected, RSIFF will inform the submitter by letter prior to the announcement of the Official Program. However, it is RSIFF’s policy not to provide any feedback, comments or reasons for films that are not selected.

Once a film is selected and confirmed, the submitter will not be able to withdraw the film or change the Premiere status of the film at any given time before it is screened at RSIFF.

Screenings & Scheduling: Selected films will be screened up to three times to RSIFF’s public audiences. At the discretion of RSIFF, the film prior to RSIFF’s public festival screenings may receive additional screenings for the accredited press and for the Jury amounting to a possible five screenings in total.

RSIFF will at its sole discretion decide on the dates and order of the screening(s) of each film.

Final Exhibition copy

The rights holders are encouraged to send the final exhibition copy of the film by a secured online transfer platform; rights holders can also ship an exhibition copy on a Hard Drive to the RSIFF address. These must be submitted in one of the following formats:

• Movie files: Apple pro res LT, Apple pro res HQ, Apple pro res 422, H264
• DCP

It is RSIFF’s general policy to screen all films in their original language version with English and Arabic subtitles.

Selected films should be submitted with a high-resolution copy of the film’s trailer, digital poster, and at least three high resolution stills used for promotional purposes. RSIFF shall be entitled without prior notice to use the trailer online and on broadcast TV for periods of time to be solely decided by RSIFF.

The exhibition copy of the film must be received in good condition and RSIFF reserves the right to refuse exhibition copies if not in good condition and can request the submitter to re-submit a new copy. In the event that the submitter fails to submit an exhibition copy suitable for screening and in good condition, RSIFF reserves the right to cancel the selection of the film without any liability whatsoever.

Exhibition Copy Shipping: RSIFF will bear shipping costs to and from RSIFF’s premises. RSIFF will return the exhibition copy at the end of RSIFF. To arrange for the delivery of the exhibition copy of the film at the end of RSIFF, the Print Traffic Manager shall contact the print source of the film by email to arrange for the delivery. In the event that the print source does not revert back to the Print Traffic Manager with delivery instruction in writing within 30 working days from the date of the email, RSIFF shall keep the exhibition copy in its possession with no obligation to further chase the print source for the delivery. Should the print source ask for the exhibition copy back post the deadline mentioned herein and up to 12 months from the date of the email, then RSIFF shall return the exhibition copy at its own cost. Upon the expiry of 12 months from the date of the email, if the exhibition copy of the film shall continue to be in RSIFF’s possession, RSIFF shall not be under any obligation whatsoever to return the exhibition copy to the print source and/or the right holder(s), and the print source and/or the right holder(s) shall have no right for any compensation claim against RSIFF. After 12 months have elapsed at its sole discretion, RSIFF can return the exhibition copy to the print source and/or the right holder(s) as instructed, and the latter shall bear the shipment costs.

Exhibition copy Insurance: Exhibition copies of all films selected for RSIFF will be insured throughout the period in which they are in RSIFF’s custody. In the case of loss or damage during RSIFF, RSIFF will be responsible only for the replacement value of the exhibition copy, if RSIFF originally received the said exhibition copy in good condition.

Additional Terms

In the event that the submitter violates any condition of the Rules and Regulations, RSIFF, at its sole discretion may choose to cancel and eliminate such film from the Official Program without any liability whatsoever.
Censorship: No editorial cuts or changes to any film will be made at any time by RSIFF for any reason or under any circumstances without written approval from the rights holders.

Anti-Piracy Precautions: RSIFF will take all possible and reasonable anti-piracy precautions. All exhibition copies and associated copyrighted materials will be securely stored while on RSIFF premises. Access is limited to RSIFF’s authorized staff only and all movement of exhibition copies will be strictly monitored. No duplication or loaning is permitted and no exhibition copies will ever leave the custody and care of RSIFF or its authorized staff during RSIFF unless authorized in writing by the rights owner of the film.

RSIFF/Yusr Logo and Laurels: All RSIFF selected films, including Yusr Awards winners, may include in a clear and visible manner on the Home Video release of their film (i.e. DVD, Blu Ray, online availability) and on any and all promotional material (including but not limited to posters, banners, EPK’s, website) a specific logo or laurels provided by RSIFF.

Acknowledgement and Undertaking

Submission and participation in the Official Program is an implicit acceptance of the Rules and Regulations.

The submitter hereby represents and warrants that he/she holds all rights in and to the film and its related materials and that he/she has the authority and capacity to submit the film and its related material for the Official Program on behalf of the rights holder(s) of the film.

Except as stated in the Rules and Regulations, the submitter acknowledges that RSIFF shall not be held liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any loss or damage of whatever type or nature incurred as a result of the submission, acceptance and/or screening of the film and/or its related material. Furthermore, the submitter undertakes to indemnify and keep RSIFF indemnified against all liabilities, claims, demands, actions, costs, damages or loss arising out of the submission, acceptance and/or screening of the film and/or its related material.

The submitter also understands and acknowledges that the online submission form and the Rules and Regulations is a consolidated and unified document, and therefore the online submission form shall be considered as incorporated herein by reference.