Saudi Film Festival Opens Submissions for 13th Edition

The Saudi Film Festival has opened submissions for its 13th edition, inviting filmmakers to enter feature, short and documentary films through the festival’s website. The edition is organised by the Saudi Cinema Association in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Ithra.

The previous edition received 314 submissions, including 249 films and 65 projects for its production market. Twenty-seven films reached the three official competitions, with six narrative features, 13 narrative shorts and eight documentaries competing for nine Golden Palms. Fifty films from more than 15 countries were screened across the festival overall.

The 12th edition took place at Ithra in Dhahran from June 26th to July 2nd, 2026. It also honoured Saudi director Haifaa Al Mansour, whose work includes the short film ‘Who?’, the feature ‘Wadjda’ and a number of subsequent international projects.