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12th Saudi Film Festival Opens at Ithra with Broad International Participation

12th Saudi Film Festival Opens at Ithra with Broad International Participation
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12th Saudi Film Festival Opens at Ithra with Broad International Participation

12th Saudi Film Festival Opens at Ithra with Broad International Participation

The 12th edition of the Saudi Film Festival has opened at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), an initiative of Saudi Aramco, bringing together prominent figures from the local, regional, and international film communities, as well as filmmakers, film critics, and cinema enthusiasts from across the industry.

Organized by the Cinema Association in partnership with Ithra and supported by the Film Commission, the festival runs from June 26 to July 2, 2026, under the theme “Every Story is a Journey.” The theme celebrates filmmaking as a creative journey that begins with the spark of an idea and scriptwriting, moves through the challenges of production, and culminates in screening, where stories meet their audiences, SPA reported.

This year’s edition received 314 submissions, including 249 films and 65 production market projects. A total of 27 films were selected for the official competitions, while six films will be presented in parallel screenings, bringing the festival lineup to 50 films from more than 15 countries.

Participating films will compete for nine Golden Palm Awards across feature-length fiction, short fiction, and documentary categories, highlighting Saudi, Gulf, Arab, and international cinematic talent.

The festival program also features specialized panel discussions, masterclasses, training workshops, book-signing sessions for publications from the Saudi Cinema Encyclopedia, and the “Meet the Experts” program, which offers one-on-one mentoring sessions with professionals in production, directing, editing, film criticism, festival programming, and project development.

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Culture

Diriyah Art Futures Launches CONTINUUM 26

CONTINUUM 26 runs from September 3 to November 7. (SPA)
CONTINUUM 26 runs from September 3 to November 7. (SPA)
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Diriyah Art Futures Launches CONTINUUM 26

CONTINUUM 26 runs from September 3 to November 7. (SPA)
CONTINUUM 26 runs from September 3 to November 7. (SPA)

Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), an asset of Saudi Arabia’s Museums Commission under the Ministry of Culture, announced on Tuesday the lineup for CONTINUUM 26, an exhibition celebrating the creative output of the participants in its second Emerging New Media Artists Program.

The first New Media Arts center in the Middle East and North Africa, DAF is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary creative practice at the intersection of art, science and technology. The exhibition reflects DAF's efforts to combine arts, research and education to empower the next generation of artists, foster new forms of creative expression and expand Saudi Arabia's creative ecosystem in line with the ambitions of the Museums Commission as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

Running from September 3 to November 7, in Diriyah, Riyadh, CONTINUUM 26 is the second installment in an annual exhibition series spotlighting innovative voices shaping the future of new media and digital art in the region and beyond.

CONTINUUM 26 showcases the artists' major new works developed during a year-long educational program at Diriyah Art Futures with support from across DAF's Education, Production, and Exhibition departments.

Working under the mentorship of acclaimed mentor-artists Louis-Philippe Demers and Rick Treweek, the participants explored new forms of creative expression spanning immersive and multimedia installations, light, sound, moving image, virtual reality, mixed reality, and AI-generated projects.

The title CONTINUUM speaks to the ever-evolving nature of creative inquiry that defines the Emerging New Media Artists program. It represents a dynamic process in which divergent artistic trajectories converge around shared thematic inquiries. This continuum reflects both the developmental journey of the participating artists and the fluid boundaries of the topics explored: worlds between reality and artificial reality, organic and synthetic, and human and artificial intelligences.

The exhibition is structured around four key thematic pillars that bridge technological experimentation with deeply human questions. Memory as a living process explores personal, collective, environmental, and cultural remembering. Systems of power and optimization examine technology as an extension of human decisions, desires, and control. The Body, perception, and presence shift focus toward embodiment, interspecies relationships, and immersive sensory environments. Repetition, rhythm, and collective experience explore the choreography of automated systems, labor, and human endurance.

Culture

Jeddah Cultural Centers Offer Quality Programs to Support Arts, Creativity

Jeddah is witnessing growing cultural activity, reflected in the programs and events offered by cultural centers and institutions. (SPA)
Jeddah is witnessing growing cultural activity, reflected in the programs and events offered by cultural centers and institutions. (SPA)
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Jeddah Cultural Centers Offer Quality Programs to Support Arts, Creativity

Jeddah is witnessing growing cultural activity, reflected in the programs and events offered by cultural centers and institutions. (SPA)
Jeddah is witnessing growing cultural activity, reflected in the programs and events offered by cultural centers and institutions. (SPA)

Jeddah is witnessing growing cultural activity, reflected in the programs and events offered by cultural centers and institutions throughout the year, the Saudi Press Agency said on Monday.

These include art exhibitions, creative workshops, literary and knowledge-based gatherings, performing arts shows, and initiatives targeting children and youth, providing talents with spaces to learn, experiment, and express themselves while strengthening interaction between creatives and audiences.

The importance of these programs lies in their ability to discover talent and develop creative skills. They provide practitioners and enthusiasts with opportunities for training, networking, and the exchange of expertise, while opening avenues for young artists to showcase their work and reach audiences.

Jeddah's cultural scene derives its distinctive character from the city's identity and historical diversity. For centuries, the city has remained a meeting point for people from diverse cultures, which has influenced its arts, architecture, and social heritage, giving the contemporary cultural scene a rich foundation that draws inspiration from the past and presents it in a modern language combining the authenticity of place with contemporary creative trends.

Cultural programs also help build bridges between generations by presenting local heritage in contemporary forms and giving children and young people opportunities to discover and practice the arts in stimulating environments. This supports the sustainability of cultural knowledge and raises awareness of the value of heritage and national identity.

Culture

Mafia Link Feared in Sicilian Grand Master Theft

A drone view shows the grounds of the Museo Regionale di Messina, where four artworks by 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina were stolen overnight, in Messina, Sicily, Italy, August 16, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the grounds of the Museo Regionale di Messina, where four artworks by 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina were stolen overnight, in Messina, Sicily, Italy, August 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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Mafia Link Feared in Sicilian Grand Master Theft

A drone view shows the grounds of the Museo Regionale di Messina, where four artworks by 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina were stolen overnight, in Messina, Sicily, Italy, August 16, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the grounds of the Museo Regionale di Messina, where four artworks by 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina were stolen overnight, in Messina, Sicily, Italy, August 16, 2026. (Reuters)

The theft of four paintings by Renaissance master Antonello da Messina may have involved organized crime and raised troubling questions about security at a museum in the Sicilian artist's hometown, a local official said on Monday.

Enzo Caruso, Messina's councilor for culture, said it was difficult to understand how thieves could have removed the works in a matter of minutes without detailed knowledge of the museum's layout.

"It's a very, very strange affair," Caruso told Reuters.

The theft on Saturday has shocked Italy and revived memories of the infamous 1969 disappearance of a masterpiece by Caravaggio from a Palermo church -- a case long associated with Sicily's Cosa Nostra mafia ‌and never solved.

TOO ‌FAMOUS TO SELL

Caruso said the stolen Antonello works were ‌so ⁠famous that selling them ⁠even on the black market would be virtually impossible, raising the possibility that they could be used as bargaining chips or collateral in criminal dealings.

"The Mafia? It's possible they might try to blackmail the state itself in order to return them. These are the kinds of dynamics that ordinary people never get to see," he said.

He said another possibility was that the paintings could be used as guarantees or currency within the criminal underworld.

The thieves entered Messina's ⁠Accascina Regional Museum on Saturday evening, while the city was celebrating ‌a religious festival that brought thousands into the streets.

The ‌burglary only came to light some two hours later when tourists found two Antonello paintings, apparently discarded ‌by the thieves, leaning against the museum railings.

Renato Schifani, the president of Sicily, issued ‌a statement to say the museum's video surveillance system and alarm had been working normally, adding that an internal investigation was underway to see if any museum staff had been involved.

LOST PAINTINGS FOUND IN THE PAST

Caruso questioned how well prepared the thieves had been, pointing to the fact that two ‌paintings had been left in the street. "Perhaps they did not anticipate how heavy they would be. These are wooden panels ... stealing them ⁠is not as ⁠easy as stealing a canvas that can be cut from its frame," he said.

He also said a professional art thief would normally take greater care handling works worth tens of millions of euros, saying no attempt had been made to protect the paintings.

Italy's crack squad of art police are heading to Messina to take on the case, just three days after helping to retrieve paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse and Paul Cezanne stolen earlier this year from a museum near Parma.

While the Rome-based art theft police have established a strong track record in finding missing masterpieces, Sicily is still haunted by the memory of the missing Caravaggio.

"I have the feeling the thieves may be keeping the (Antonellos) hidden while things calm down," Caruso said.

"Or perhaps they immediately took the sea route," he added, noting that the museum lies close to the Strait of Messina.

"The hope is that sooner or later they reappear."