Work In Progress
Rules and Regulations

All the selected projects will compete for cash awards offered by the Red Sea Fund and  granted by an international Jury with a total of US$210,000  

A selected project, which has already been supported once by the Red Sea Fund, is still eligible for these awards. 

Selected films may also compete for relevant awards to be presented by Souk sponsors. Sponsors awards will be announced mid-November. 

All the winners will be announced during the Red Sea Souk Award Ceremony that will be held on the last day of the Red Sea Souk on 9 December 2026.  

Film submissions must be made through the Red Sea Souk online application process. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

The call for applications for the Red Sea Souk Work-in-Progress will close on 24 July 2026.

Please pay attention to the following eligibility criteria:

1. Directors must meet one of the following criteria:
   • For Saudi Directors, the director must be of Saudi nationality or origin.
   • For Arab Directors, the director must be of Arab nationality or origin.
   • For African or Asian Directors, the director must strictly be of African or Asian nationality (Appendix 1)
2. The film must not have been screened as a work-in-progress, or otherwise, in any other MENA festival or market prior to the Red Sea Souk.
3. The film is currently in the post-production stage and the Director and Producer agree and are entitled to present sections of the film at the Red Sea Souk.
4. A film in post-production that was submitted to the official sections of the Festival but was not selected can still be considered by the Selection Committee to participate in the Work in Progress (WIP) the same year.

If the film is not in the English language, it must come with English subtitles at the time of its application to the WIP Showcase.

The Director and Producer must be available to participate in the full Work-in-Progress (WIP) in Jeddah. Priority will be given to films with a Producer or Co-Producer with African, Arab or Asian nationality/origin.

Special attention will be given to first or second feature films, fiction, animation and documentary, (minimum duration of 60 minutes) and films with no international sales or distribution attached.

Incomplete or ineligible applications will not be assessed

The following documents to be submitted in English: 

• Logline  

• Synopsis 

• Film's Chain of Title 

• Final Script  

• Biographies and filmographies for the director(s) and producer(s) already attached to the project 

• Director’s statement 

• Producer’s statement 

• A complete project budget report 

• Financial plan 

• Detailed timelines and expected date of completion 

• Links to the previous work(s) of the director 

• Mood board/Storyboard (optional) 

• A link to a complete rough cut or selection of scenes from the film (20min minimum) with English subtitles  

• Full details of any other funding applications made and/or already received 

• A summary budget with main chapters figures detailed 

Any other materials that would support the application. 

The selection of the films in WIP is made by a committee composed of industry professionals and the Souk senior team. Eight films will be selected. No justification will be given to any refusal of films.

The selection results will be communicated to the selected teams by early September 2026.

Producers of the selected films in post-production should confirm the acceptance of the Red Sea Souk WIP invitation within a week. This confirmation is binding for both Parties and will involve accepting all regulations established by the Red Sea Souk.

Notably, the following conditions and undertakings will apply:

• The Red Sea Souk will cover two persons travel expenses and accommodation for up to six nights, for the Director, and for one Producer, for each of the selected films in post-production (04-10 December 2026).
• The documentation required by the Red Sea Souk for the Book of Projects, one to one meetings platform and website will be duly completed and sent no later than 1 October 2026.
• Once selected, the film cannot be included on any VoD platforms with the exception of cases where their use is strictly professional and has restricted access.
• The invitation made to each selected film will remain strictly confidential until the official announcement is published.
• The complete WIP Showcase program and all screening times are exclusively decided by the Red Sea Souk.

The format accepted for the Screenings is exclusively MOV files. The MOV files must have been previously viewed and approved by the Producer/Distributor.

The screening files, in the original version with English subtitles must be sent no later than 20 November 2026, at the address to be specified by the Festival.
The cost of subtitling in English is the responsibility of the film producers or representatives.

The Festival reserves the right to reject the files found to be unsuitable for screening during control by its Technical Department. In the event of irregularities in the files, the Festival will issue the film owners or representatives with the corresponding technical report.

As a binding condition, all selected Work-in-Progress films must include the authorized Red Sea Souk logo and the following mention in the closing credits of the film: 

“With the support of the Red Sea Souk Project Market 2026.” 

The Work-in-Progress film that will be awarded one of the two Red Sea Souk Post-Production Awards must display alongside the logo of the Red Sea Souk the mention: 

“Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award 2026” 

“Red Sea Jury Special Mention Post-Production Award 2026” 

and follow all other obligations with respect to credits which may be requested by the Red Sea Souk. 

If other film partners appear in the opening credits, the Red Sea Souk logo and the award mention must also be included in the opening credits.