Saudi Arabia pauses star-studded Red Sea film festival as Houthis hit kingdom

Saudi Arabia postponed its flagship Red Sea International Film Festival on Monday, citing logistical challenges associated with staging the event. 

The development is a setback to Riyadh's ambition to become a global entertainment hub as attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants are increasingly disrupting the oil-rich kingdom’s economy and arrives as hostilities could imperil other high-profile international events — including October’s glitzy Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, known as "Davos in the Desert." 

What happened: The Red Sea Film Foundation said the sixth edition of the festival, scheduled for Dec. 3-12 in Jeddah, would be postponed to the fourth quarter of 2027 following a review of the event’s timing and the “logistical requirements” of staging an international festival of its scale. 

The foundation didn’t explicitly cite the war or Houthi attacks, but said in a press release that the festival needed to take place “at the right time and under the right conditions.” The film festival was also grappling with internal upheaval this year, with the foundation’s longtime managing director, Shivani Pandya Malhotra, stepping down in June.

The festival was established in 2019, following Saudi Arabia’s decision to lift a 35-year ban on commercial cinemas in 2017. Its inaugural event was held in 2021, and it quickly became a prominent element of the kingdom’s effort to build a domestic film industry and attract international audiences and talent. 

Stars including Will Smith, Dakota Johnson and Johnny Depp have attended previous editions, while the festival’s Red Sea Souk has developed into a key regional film market.

The postponement comes as Saudi Arabia faces growing security threats from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, who have intensified their campaign around the Red Sea and against the kingdom since July. The US-Israel-Iran war has already hit other international events this year, including Formula One races in the Gulf. 

There had been signs of a return to normalcy as the nearly seven-month US-Iran conflict bogged down into a stalemate. Earlier this month, Riyadh hosted the delayed LEAP Conference after the kingdom’s largest tech event had been postponed in April due to the war. 

Why it matters: The Red Sea International Film Festival is a core part of the kingdom’s effort to demonstrate that the country can become a destination for global culture, tourism and investment — and that the social opening under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is translating into an internationally competitive entertainment industry.

Saudi Arabia has already spent billions of dollars on Vision 2030 projects designed to diversify the economy and make the kingdom less dependent on oil. Now, the conflict is threatening not only physical infrastructure and energy exports, but some of the high-profile events designed to showcase what that transformation looks like.

The festival itself is a relatively manageable setback. Its foundation says its year-round programs will continue, including the Red Sea Fund and Red Sea Labs, while new programming is planned for Historic Jeddah beginning in November.

The bigger question is what happens next. Riyadh is scheduled to host the Future Investment Initiative in late October, its annual gathering of investors, executives and political leaders. That event carries considerably greater economic and diplomatic weight than a film festival. 

For now, there is no indication that the FII will be canceled, but a disruption would send a much more consequential signal about the ability of Saudi Arabia to keep its global-facing transformation on track amid a widening war.

Know more: The first Hollywood-style big-budget film shot in Saudi Arabia hit theaters in April. Titled "Desert Warrior," the historical epic starring Anthony Mackie garnered mixed reviews from critics and grossed just $759,228 worldwide against an estimated budget of $150 million.