10th Edition of Saudi Film Festival Rolls Out the Red Carpet at Ithra

The 10th edition of the Saudi Film Festival is set to take place this May 2nd to the 9th at the King Abdulaziz World Cultural Centre (Ithra) in Dhahran, featuring 76 film screenings, and 53 newly released titles - spanning short, long, and documentary formats - competing for the event’s 36 category awards.

As well as screenings and the awards ceremony, the festival will also offer professional enrichment activities, with 10 workshops and 13 masterclasses on a wide variety of cinematic disciplines. Interactive experiences, meet-and-greets with local film stars, and tours of Ithra’s facilities will also be on offer for children and adults alike.

Over its 10-year history, the Saudi Film Festival saw the participation of 1,444 films, as well as over 2,000 acclaimed but unexecuted screenplays, a sign of the rapid growth of Saudi Arabia’s cinema industry. Memorabilia will be displayed at the Festival Museum, celebrating milestones from past festivals.

Saudi actor Abdul Mohsen Al Nimr will be honoured at the SFF for his extensive contributions to cinema in the Gulf, having left an indelible mark on the industry with features such as ‘Shadows of Silence’ (2006) and ‘Hajjan’ (2023), which won Best Feature, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography at the 2024 Gulf Film Festival.