12 Red Sea Fund-Backed Films Enter 99th Oscars Race

A record 12 films supported by the Red Sea Film Foundation have entered the race for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.

Eleven have been selected as official submissions by their countries: Saudi Arabia’s ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ by Anas Batahaf, Algeria’s ‘Roqia’ by Yanis Koussim, Chad’s ‘Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars’ by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Egypt’s ‘The Stories’ by Abu Bakr Shawky, Georgia’s ‘Guria’ by Levan Koguashvili, Indonesia’s ‘Four Seasons in Java’ by Kamila Andini, Jordan’s ‘Sink’ by Zain Duraie, Morocco’s ‘Strawberries’ by Laïla Marrakchi, Rwanda’s ‘Ben’Imana’ by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, Singapore’s ‘We Are All Strangers’ by Anthony Chen and Syria’s ‘The Other Side of the Sun’ by Tawfik Sabouni.

They are joined by Indian filmmaker Theja Rio’s ‘Angh’, which won the Platform Award at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Under new Academy rules for the 99th Oscars, selected international festival prize winners can submit directly for consideration in the category.

The Foundation also pointed to a strong festival run for several of the films. ‘Angh’ led its largest-ever presence at Toronto, where eight supported titles screened, while ‘Ben’Imana’, now Rwanda’s official submission, won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes earlier this year.

The shortlist for Best International Feature Film will be announced on December 15th, 2026, followed by nominations on January 21st, 2027. The 99th Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on March 14th, 2027.