Bollywood great Rekha among celebrity guests set to attend Red Sea International Film Festival 2025

Several of this year's Oscar submissions will also be screened at event

Bollywood actress Rekha will attend a celebration of one of Indian cinema’s most acclaimed performances. AFP

Beloved Bollywood actress Rekha will attend this year’s Red Sea International Film Festival for a special screening of her 1981 classic Umrao Jaan, presented in a newly restored version.

The screening, part of the festival’s Treasures section, will celebrate one of Indian cinema’s most acclaimed performances and pay tribute to Rekha’s lasting influence on film and culture.

The festival, running from December 4 to 13 in Jeddah’s Al-Balad district, will open with Giant, a boxing biopic about British-Yemeni world champion Prince Naseem “Naz” Hamed. Directed by Rowan Athale and starring Amir El-Masry, the film charts Hamed’s rise from humble beginnings in Sheffield to global fame, confronting the racism and Islamophobia prevalent in parts of Britain in the 1980s and 1990s.

“Our selection of Giant as the opening film of the fifth edition embodies an artistic celebration of regional talents who have established their presence on the global film scene,” said Faisal Baltyuor, chief executive of the Red Sea Film Foundation.

Competition line-up

This year’s competition will feature a diverse selection of 16 titles from the Arab world, Africa and Asia, including a number that have been submitted to the 2026 Academy Awards.

Among them are Hijra by Saudi director Shahad Ameen, which follows three generations of women on a journey from Taif to Makkah; A Sad and Beautiful World by Lebanese filmmaker Cyril Aris, a love story spanning decades in Beirut; and All That’s Left of You by Cherien Dabis, tracing three generations of Palestinians shaped by the Nakba.

Hijra was shot at AlUla and Neom in Saudi Arabia. Photo: La Biennale di Venezia

Other entries include Allah Is Not Obliged, a Franco-Luxembourg-Belgian-Canadian-Saudi animated adaptation of Ahmadou Kourouma’s novel; Barni, a Somali-Djiboutian-American drama by Mohammed Sheikh; and Irkalla: Dreams of Gilgamesh by Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji, set amid the streets of Baghdad.

The competition also features Lost Land by Akio Fujimoto, the first Rohingya-language feature; Black Rabbit, White Rabbit by Shahram Mokri; Sink by Zain Duraie; Roqia by Yanis Koussim; The Stories by Abu Bakr Shawky; The World of Love by Yoon Ga-eun; Truck Mama by Zippy Nyaruri; Nighttime Sounds by Zhang Zhongchen; and Two Seasons, Two Strangers by Sho Miyake.

Arab Spectacular

Four Saudi films anchor the film festival's Arab Spectacular section. Anas Ba-Tahaf’s A Matter of Life and Death offers a darkly comic romance set in Jeddah, while Haifaa Al Mansour’s Unidentified follows a woman investigating a mysterious death in her hometown. Amine Lakhnech’s The Fakenapping and Amira Diab’s Wedding Rehearsal round out the local slate.

Regional highlights include Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36, set amid the Arab Revolt of 1936, exploring how political upheaval shapes private lives.

International Spectacular

The International Spectacular programme includes Couture by Alice Winocour, a Paris-set drama starring Angelina Jolie; Scarlet, a Japanese animated feature from Mamoru Hosoda inspired by Hamlet; Desert Warrior, Rupert Wyatt’s Saudi-shot historical epic starring Anthony Mackie and Ben Kingsley; Farruquito – A Flamenco Dynasty, a Spanish-American documentary by Santi Aguado and Reuben Atlas; and The Wizard of the Kremlin, Olivier Assayas’s political thriller led by Paul Dano and Jude Law.

Special screenings

This strand will include The Voice of Hind Rajab, Kaouther Ben Hania’s hybrid of documentary and drama recounting the story of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed during the Israel-Gaza war.

The Voice of Hind Rajab is one of the most acclaimed Arab films of the year. Photo: Mime Films & Tanit Films

Sirat by Oliver Laxe, a Spain–France co-production exploring grief and transcendence through a father’s search for his missing daughter, will also screen.

As part of the Treasures section, Rekha’s appearance for Umrao Jaan adds a major highlight to the festival’s fifth year, reflecting its growing role in preserving and showcasing film heritage from across the world.

Industry and talent initiatives

Running alongside the screenings are the festival’s industry and talent platforms, the Red Sea Souk and Red Sea Labs. The Souk will feature 40 projects in development and production, with 42 per cent of participants being women. The Labs continue to provide mentorship and training for emerging filmmakers across the region.