The first slate of films announced in the festival's Arab Spectacular segment includes productions directed by filmmakers from Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, and Lebanon.

The selection includes titles such as Recovery by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, making its premiere, alongside Héliopolis by Algerian director Djaffar Gacem, Their Heads Are Green And Their Hands Are Blue by Jay Bulger, Casablanca Beats by Nabil Ayouch, The Exam by Iraqi director Shawkat Amin Korki, Take Me to the Cinema, a documentary feature from Iraqi director Albaqer Jaafar, and Memory Box, co-directed and co-written by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige.

The festival will also screen Ghodwa, a directorial debut by Tunisian actor Dhafer L’Abidine, who also wrote the script together with Ahmed Amer and stars in the film. Ghodwa will see its world premiere during the upcoming Cairo International Film Festival which will take place just days prior to the Saudi festival.

The inaugural edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 6 to 15 December, 2021.

The festival was originally scheduled for March 2020, but it was postponed until 11 November 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, beffore being pushed to 6 December.

Eleven program sections will showcase contemporary international and Arab cinema, Saudi features, shorts and experimental films, retrospectives, and future-oriented AR and VR experiences.

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