The programme features 11 short films from Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq and the UAE.
The Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea IFF) has announced the lineup of Arab short films competing in the official competition of its fifth edition, showcasing 11 works from Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq and the UAE. The films will be screened from December 4–13, 2025, in Jeddah’s historic district of Al-Balad, as the coastal city once again transforms into a global stage for cinema and storytelling.
This year’s Arab Shorts programme brings together a new generation of Arab filmmakers, whose distinctive voices and fresh perspectives reflect the creative vitality and emotional resonance shaping contemporary Arab cinema. The selection explores themes of identity, belonging, memory and social change, offering powerful reflections on the human experience across diverse cultural landscapes.
Among the Palestinian entries is Coyotes, directed by Said Zagha, which follows a surgeon whose late-night drive home through the West Bank turns into a transformative journey. From Egypt, Karim Eldin El Alfy’s Empty Lands tells the story of a couple who move into a new home only to confront unsettling traces of its displaced former residents, while Hussein Hossam’s The Sea Remembers My Name explores grief and identity through the tale of twin brothers torn apart by tragedy.
Morocco is represented by two films: Amine Zeriouh’s Quo vadis, Meryem!, a poignant portrait of love and family tensions rekindled by loss, and Ines Lehaire’s With the Wind, which follows an aging florist’s final act of generosity and rediscovery. From Iraq, Lanya Nooralddin presents Beyond the Mind, a tender allegory of devotion and abandonment through the story of a loyal donkey named Mekhak.
Saudi Arabia contributes two films to the lineup — Sara Balghonaim’s Irtizaz, a biting social commentary set during a funeral where a young divorcée navigates unspoken judgments, and Hussain Almutlaq’s Opening Ceremony, which follows a young boy torn between innocence and duty during a symbolic civic event.
The UAE’s entry, Umbilical Cord by Ahmed Hasan Ahmed, is a poetic meditation on time and urgency, while Lebanon offers two deeply personal works: Samir Syriani’s What If They Bomb Here Tonight?, a tense portrayal of a couple trapped by fear during an air raid, and Liliane Rahal’s She’s Swimming, in which a filmmaker processes loss and renewal after her cousin’s death.
