Arab Women Directors Triumph at Red Sea Film Festival 2025

JEDDAH The Red Sea Film Festival has concluded its 2025 edition in Jeddah, marking a historic turning point for female representation in Middle Eastern cinema. This year, 38 directors gathered in Saudi Arabia, with four influential women emerging as the architects of a new, diverse narrative in Arab storytelling.

The festival’s top honors saw significant wins for women who are breaking long-standing industry barriers.

The Palestinian American filmmaker took home the Silver Yusr Feature Film award ($30,000) for “All That’s Left of You,” a powerful multigenerational epic tracing the Palestinian experience from the 1948 Nakba to 2022.

The Saudi trailblazer won the Yusr Jury Prize for “Hijra,” a compelling mystery following three women on a pilgrimage from Taif to Mecca.

The festival highlights Saudi Arabia’s massive investment in its “Vision 2030” cultural transformation. While some rights groups remain critical of the kingdom’s broader human rights record, the festival itself has become a vital platform for voices that were previously unheard.

“Ten years ago, we couldn’t have dreamed of this,” said Shahad Ameen, noting that the festival represents a turning point for cinema in the kingdom.

Directors like Zain Duraie and Amira Diab used the platform to showcase stories often ignored. Duraie’s feature “Sink” tackles mental health—a taboo subject in much of Arab cinema—while Diab’s “Wedding Rehearsal” brings a nuanced, female-centric perspective to the social fabric of Egypt and Palestine.