The Red Sea Film Foundation is bringing a diverse array of Arab stories to the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), with six films backed by the foundation set to screen across key festival sections. This announcement highlights the foundation's ongoing commitment to nurturing storytellers from the Arab world and helping them reach international audiences.

The selected films showcase the creative talent and ambition of the filmmakers the foundation supports, reflecting the diversity of stories emerging from the region. These narratives range from explorations of motherhood and family to journeys into nature and the far-distant future.

The films supported by the Red Sea Film Foundation that will be screened at TIFF 2025 include:

• Memory of Princess Mumbi by Damien Hauser: This film, set in a futuristic African country, tells a story of love and power between a director, an actress, and a prince. It will be featured in TIFF's Centrepiece programme.
• Dandelion's Odyssey by Momoko Seto: Also part of the Centrepiece programme, this film follows four dandelion seeds escaping Earth's nuclear devastation.
• Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream by Mohamed Al-Daradji: This Centrepiece selection depicts war orphans struggling to survive in a ruined city.
• Ghost School by Seemab Gull: This film, which will appear in the Discovery section, tells the story of a young girl named Rabia who is determined to uncover the mystery behind her school's closure, despite superstition and bureaucracy.
• Sink by Zain Duraie: Duraie's debut feature, a moving portrayal of a mother coping with her son's mental health struggles, will also be screened in the Discovery section. This film received support throughout its development from the Red Sea FF's incubation ecosystem, originating at the Feature Films Programme, participating in the Souk, and benefitting from the Fund.
• Palestine 36 by Annemarie Jacir: This film, supported by the Red Sea Fund, explores life and ambition under British rule in the 1930s and is set for a Gala screening. It is one of the most anticipated Arab films at TIFF. The cast includes Hiam Abbass, Saleh Bakri, Jeremy Irons, Liam Cunningham and Dhafer L'Abidine.

In addition to the film screenings, Saudi producer and Red Sea FF CEO Faisal Baltyuor will participate in TIFF's industry program. He will join a panel on the global rise of Middle Eastern and North African cinema, alongside filmmakers Seyhmus Altun (As We Breathe), Zain Duraie (Sink), and Haifaa Al Mansour (Unidentified).

The Toronto International Film Festival is an important platform for films from the Middle East, offering space for emerging and established Arab filmmakers. The annual event is one of the world's largest and most influential film festivals. This year's festival runs from September 4 to 14.

The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) itself is scheduled to hold its fifth edition from December 4–13, 2025, in the historic district of Al Balad, Jeddah. The festival is the largest celebration of cinema and culture in the MENA region. The festival will transform the historic Jeddah Old Town, 'Al-Balad', into a cinematic wonderland, captivating film enthusiasts, industry professionals, and global audiences alike. The previous edition of RSIFF saw record-breaking participation, with over 40,000 attendees and nearly 7,000 accredited guests, showcasing 122 films from 85 countries, including 61 premieres.