Rough Seas: A War-Torn Middle East Isn’t the Only Reason the Red Sea Film Festival Was Abruptly Canceled

Geopolitical turmoil is as good an excuse as any to call off a film festival.

But an explosive shake-up of another sort is happening on the Middle Eastern cinema circuit — and it’s not just due to President Trump’s threats of “annihilation” to Iran.

Last week’s cancellation of Saudi Arabia’s glitzy Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah spurred industry chatter. At the same time, the long-defunct Dubai Film Festival announced it would spring back to life in 2027 in an overlapping slot. Multiple sources say destabilization in the festival space points to the failure of an image-sanitization campaign involving Hollywood — one that’s costing Middle East investors too much and brought too few results.

One likely factor is “the prioritization of projects and initiatives that Saudi is investing in, including image and reputation-related events,” says Dubai-based media consultant Mazen Hayek, according to whom “reducing spend on a film festival” is part of the current thinking in Riyadh where the big priorities are the Riyadh Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

The event, meant to bow in early December, historically has shelled out millions to lure top talent like Will Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Williams and Halle Berry. Yes, the theater of war is a menacing prospect, and Saudi cities like Jeddah and Riyadh have been targeted by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. But the Red Sea cancellation doesn’t just highlight danger in the region. From the outset, the event was conceived as more than a film festival; it launched as Saudi Arabia was trying to repair its image following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Critics accused the kingdom of using the festival, along with sports and other celebrity-driven events, to rehabilitate its reputation. Red Sea executives argued that the fest was helping build a genuine film industry in a country where cinemas had only recently reopened. It was a bit of both.

The perks were undeniable, especially for A-list talent. Stars were put up in premium hotels, including the Assila Luxury Collection and the Shangri-La Jeddah on the Red Sea waterfront. Boldface names were offered tours of the oasis of AlUla and its vast sandstone canyons. Johnny Depp, whose 2023 comeback film “Jeanne du Barry” was financed by the Red Sea Fund, reportedly spent weeks traveling the country as a guest of the royal family (shuttling between superyachts, mountain retreats and palaces). That strategy now seems compromised.

“Do you really think an American actor is going to travel to the region right now?” says a senior industry source familiar with the events. “You saw that just a few days ago the State Department advised Americans against traveling to Saudi Arabia. Who is going to get on a plane?” Last year, “Anora” director Sean Baker presided over the jury of a star-studded edition that kicked off with Dakota Johnson, Uma Thurman, Ana de Armas, Vin Diesel and Michael Caine in attendance, though none had a film to promote.

In a statement, the Red Sea fest vowed to return in the fourth quarter of 2027 with a “renewed vision,” while continuing to generously finance Arab movies through its fund. “Hollywood stars, alongside leading international filmmakers and talent, will continue to be part of the festival experience. At Red Sea, their presence goes beyond the red carpet, creating opportunities for audiences, emerging filmmakers and the industry to engage with leading creative voices,” says Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation.

“I don’t believe Red Sea will be discontinued,” says prominent Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy, CEO of the Cairo-based Film Clinic, which has a Saudi outpost. He believes the fest will remain part of the Saudi leadership’s vision to foster a film industry, though it will aim to become “more economical and self-sufficient in the future.”

Arab film distributor Alaa Karkouti agrees but points out, “You can’t keep inviting Hollywood stars forever, unless they are coming to promote a film.”

That may not be the case, however, as David Ellison inches closer to merging his Paramount Skydance with Warner Bros. Discovery. The sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi have an indirect stake of nearly 50% in Ellison’s $111 billion bid for WBD.

Any talent on the Paramount or Warner Bros. payroll that may be skittish about walking carpets in the Middle East will have a powerful new boss lobbying them to pack their trunks and store assistants in the overhead. After all, Ellison can fly the plane himself.

Elsa Keslassy and Alex Ritman contributed to this report.