Red Sea Film Festival Hosts Saudi’s First Silent Films With Live Music

The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) has revealed its Treasures programme for 2025, which includes a landmark event in Saudi cinema: the country’s first-ever live-accompanied silent-film screenings.

The presentation features works by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy, with live musical performance from UK silent-film specialist Neil Brand.

In addition to the silent-film tribute, the festival will showcase six classic films in 4 K restoration, including the Indian classic 'Umrao Jaan', and Egyptian director Ahmed Badrakhan’s films 'Aida' (1942) and 'Song of Hope' (1937), bearing witness to newer audience expectations and Saudi Arabia’s rising cultural ambitions in the region.