Overview
- Running Dec. 4–13 in Jeddah’s Al-Balad UNESCO district, the festival is screening more than 100 films from over 70 countries.
- Opening night featured the regional premiere of Rowan Athale’s Giant about Prince Naseem Hamed, starring Amir El‑Masry with Pierce Brosnan, with Sylvester Stallone credited as an executive producer.
- Prince Naseem Hamed attended the screening and lauded El‑Masry, placing his WBC belt over the actor after the film.
- El‑Masry said he dislocated a finger during boxing training for the role but had it reset and was cleared by doctors to continue filming.
- Michael Caine accepted a festival honor presented by Vin Diesel, while jury president Sean Baker leads a panel including Riz Ahmed, Naomie Harris, Nadine Labaki and Olga Kurylenko, and the Red Sea Souk convenes 160+ companies including top streamers under the Red Sea Film Foundation and PIF-backed growth.