Geopolitical turmoil is as good an excuse as any to call off a film festival.
\n\nBut an explosive shake-up of another sort is happening on the Middle Eastern cinema circuit — and it’s not just due to President Trump’s threats of “annihilation” to Iran.
\n\nLast week’s cancellation of Saudi Arabia’s glitzy Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah spurred industry chatter. At the same time, the long-defunct Dubai Film Festival announced it would spring back to life in 2027 in an overlapping slot. Multiple sources say destabilization in the festival space points to the failure of an image-sanitization campaign involving Hollywood — one that’s costing Middle East investors too much and brought too few results.
\n\nOne likely factor is “the prioritization of projects and initiatives that Saudi is investing in, including image and reputation-related events,” says Dubai-based media consultant Mazen Hayek, according to whom “reducing spend on a film festival” is part of the current thinking in Riyadh where the big priorities are the Riyadh Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
\n\nThe event, meant to bow in early December, historically has shelled out millions to lure top talent like Will Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Williams and Halle Berry.
Original source: https://variety.com/