Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has cancelled its sixth edition, scheduled for 3–12 December 2026, and plans to return in the fourth quarter of 2027. Organisers cited timing and logistical considerations, while the decision comes amid heightened regional conflict and follows the cancellation of Saudi Arabia’s Formula One race earlier this year.

The festival, founded in 2019, has become a major Arab film-market event and a central part of Saudi Arabia’s ambition to develop an international film and television industry under Vision 2030. Its Red Sea Fund and Labs will continue, alongside new year-round programming in Jeddah, while the break is also expected to allow organisational restructuring after the departure of general manager Shivani Pandya Malhotra and amid reported differences over the festival’s future direction.