The Saudi Film Festival (SFF) has opened for film and scripts submissions through the festival website, Filmmakers can apply starting from 19th of Dec 2022 until the 8th of March 2023. The 9th edition of the first film festival ever held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be held at Ithra Center in Dhahran 4-11 May 2023. SFF is organized by the Cinema Association in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (ithra) with the support of the Film Commission of the Ministry of Culture.
Read an interview with the festival founder, Ahmed Almulla on esteemed UK based publication Screen.
In this edition of the festival there will be four competitions, nominated films and scripts entries will compete for 26 awards:
“Golden Palm” Awards of Feature Films Competition
- Golden Palm for Best Feature Film
- Jury Award
- Golden Palm for Best Actor
- Golden Palm for Best Actress
- Golden Palm for Best Sound Design
- Golden Palm for Best Cinematography
- Golden Palm for Best Executed Screenplay
- Golden Palm for the best montage
“Golden Palm” Awards of short Films Competition
- Golden Palm for Best Short Film
- Jury Award
- Golden Palm for Best Actor
- Golden Palm for Best Actress
- Golden Palm for Best Cinematography
- Golden Palm for Best Animation Film
- Abdullah Al Muhaisin Award for the first film
“Golden Palm” Awards Documentary Films Competition
- Golden Palm for Best Documentary Film
- Jury Award
- Unique Documentary Subject Award
- Jebel Tuwaiq Award for the best film about a Saudi city
Unproduced Script Competition Awards
- Best First Feature Film script
- Best Second Feature Film script
- Best Third Feature Film script
- Best First Short Film script
- Best Second Short Film script
- Ghazi Al-Gosaibi Award for Best script based on a Saudi Novel
Gulf Film Award
The festival also welcomes Gulf filmmakers to apply for selection within the festival's programs and to compete for the Gulf Film Award.
Production Market
Filmmakers with projects in development can apply for the production market program, where nominated participants will compete for 6 grants introduced by the festival, in addition to other partners and companies grants that will be announced later.
Production Market Grants
- Development grant for a Feature Film
- Production grant for a Feature Film
- Post-Production grant for a Feature Film
- Development grant for a Short Film
- Production grant for a Short Film
- Post Production grant for a Short Film
The festival organizes a number of events, such as specialized workshops and seminars, and publishes a set of books on different cinema topics. More details to be announced at a press conference coming next month.
Saudi Film Festival is considered the first film festival in Saudi Arabia since its inception in 2008, encouraging filmmakers and developing cinema culture, while creating a competitive climate among Saudi filmmakers.
To apply visit the festival's website, www.saudifilmfestival.org
