Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund Gets Behind Projects From Tarzan & Arab Nasser, Sofia Alaoui & Amanda Nell Eu

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Foundation, which last week announced the cancellation of the 2026 edition of its Red Sea International Film Festival, is keeping its pledge to continue year-round support of independent filmmakers in the Arab world and beyond.

The foundation’s Red Sea Fund has unveiled the 30 projects selected in its first two funding cycles of 2026, supporting filmmakers in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, Africa and Asia. (scroll down for full list)

Cycle one, dedicated to projects in post-production, received a record 220 submissions. In one of the most competitive rounds to date, 13 projects were selected.

Six of these titles have already premiered internationally including Ben’imana by Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo which won the Caméra d’Or for best first feature at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered in Un Certain Regard.

Other grantees already making waves on the festival circuit include Strawberries by Laïla Marrakchi, which also played in Cannes Un Certain Regard; Toronto titles Angh by Theja Rio, which won the Platform Award, automatically qualifying it for the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards, and Four Seasons in Java by Kamila Andini.

Venice selection Al Baraneya by Ashgan El-Hamus and Lê Bảo’s Hearing which competed at the Locarno Film Festival have also won the fund’s support.

Cycle two dedicated to projects in production, received 696 submissions, with 17 projects ultimately selected, spanning feature fiction, feature documentary and short fiction.

They include Gaza Forever by Palestinian twin directors Tarzan and Arab Nasser, who won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Director Award for Once Upon A Time In Gaza in 2025; apocalyptic sci-fi drama Tarfaya by French-Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui, and Lotus Feet, the first film by Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu since her 2023 debut feature breakout Tiger Stripes.

Five Saudi projects feature in cycle two selection: Remind Me to Forget by Lama Jamjoom, Green Corpse by Khaled Zidan, whose Mera, Mera Mera was in competition at Clermont-Ferrand; Maria’s Mansion by Raed Alsemari, whose Dunya’s Day won the shorts jury award in Sundance in 2019; Bait Bahar by Yaser Hammad and Microwave by Mishary Almazyaad, who co-directed Blue Spirit, the 2022 documentary about the AlHilal soccer team.

The unveiling of the selection comes just days after the Red Sea Film Foundation announced the cancellation of its annual festival due to take place in Jeddah in December.

Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation said the two cycles reflected the Red Sea Fund’s continued commitment to providing year-round support to filmmakers at critical stages of their creative journeys.

“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,” he said.

Full list of selected projects

CYCLE 1: POST-PRODUCTION (13 projects)

Hearing
Director: Lê Bảo
Producers: Elizabeth Wijaya, Weijie Lai, Thi Bao Yen Huynh
Vietnam, Singapore, France, Norway, Indonesia, Taiwan, China

Who Stole My Cross?
Director: Park Syeyoung
Producers: Park Syeyoung, Philippe Bober
South Korea, Germany

Al Baraneya
Director: Ashgan El-Hamus
Producers: Frank Hoeve, Kesmat El Sayed
Egypt

Ben’imana
Director: Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
Producers: Samantha Biffot, Marie-Epiphanie Uwayezu
Rwanda

Angh
Director: Theja Rio
Producers: Nancy Beso, Jai Rodgers
India

Bells of Kabul
Director: Chabname Zariab
Producers: Lou Chicoteau, Jean-Etienne Brat
France, Germany,
Belgium

Four Seasons in Java
Director: Kamila Andini
Producer: Ifa Isfansyah
Indonesia

Grey Glow
Director: Michèle Tyan
Producer: Sabine Sidawi
Lebanon, France, Qatar

Selvi
Director: Sailesh Rathnakumar
Producer: Anjali Patil
India

Guardian of the Island
Director: Sewmehon Yismaw Sendekie
Producer: Tamirat Mekonen Teklu
Ethiopia

On the Donkey Route
Director: Ahmad Al-Bazz
Producer: Ameen Nayfeh
Palestine, Canada

Tomorrow Will Be Rain…
Director: Cemal Alomar
Producers: Orwa Hamadallah, Cemal Alomar
Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom

Strawberries
Director: Laïla Marrakchi
Producers: Saïd Hamich Benlarbi, Juliette Schrameck, Adria Monés, Elisa
Heene
Morocco, Spain, France, Belgium

CYCLE 2: PRODUCTION (17 projects)

Remind Me to Forget
Director: Lama Jamjoom
Producers: Mawadda Sallam, Maryam Sindi, Lama Jamjoom
Saudi Arabia

Daughters of the Sea
Director: Martika Escobar
Producers: Monster Jimenez, Rajiv Idnani, Alba Sotorra
Philippines

The Northern Bald Ibis
Director: Ameer Fakher Eldin
Producer: Dorothe Beinemeier
Germany, Lebanon, Luxembourg

Hum
Director: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
Producers: Hannah Schierbeek, Alemberg Ang
Philippines

Pieces
Director: Imran Hamdulay
Producer: Adam Thal
South Africa

Gaza Forever
Directors: Tarzan Nasser, Arab Nasser
Producers: Rashid Abdelhamid, Hugo Legrand-Nathan, Yacine Medkour
Palestine, Jordan, France

Lotus Feet
Director: Amanda Eu
Producer: Fei Ling Foo
Malaysia

The Side Effects of Trusting Life
Director: Ahmad Ghossein
Producer: Georges Schoucair
Lebanon, Germany, Norway

Green Corpse
Director: Khaled Zidan
Producer: Bakr Alduhaim
Saudi Arabia

The Scapegoat
Director: Yılmaz Özdil
Producers: Mehmet Aktaş, Marylou Ribes, Emre Kayış
Turkey

Leg
Director: Shokir Kholikov
Producer: Aigerim Satybaldy
Kazakhstan, Italy

The Last Oasis
Director: Zhengyu Shao
Producer: Xiao Xu
China

Maria’s Mansion
Director: Raed Alsemari
Producers: Amri Rae Cacanindin, Sara Almodaimigh
Saudi Arabia

Let Us Fight
Director: Eli Maene
Producer: Maisha Maene
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tarfaya
Directors: Sofia Alaoui, Annabella Nezri
Producers: Sofia Alaoui, Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barral, Annabella Nezri
Morocco

Bait Bahar
Director: Yaser Hammad
Producers: Mohamed Kordofani, Khalid Awad
Saudi Arabia

Microwave
Director: Mishary Almazyaad
Producer: Sagda Alnoor
Saudi Arabia