The Red Sea Film Foundation has reached a new high in the Oscars race, with 12 films it supported now competing for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. Together they represent 12 countries spanning Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, Africa and Asia.

Eleven of the titles are their countries' official entries: A Matter of Life and Death, Roqia, Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars, The Stories, Guria, Four Seasons in Java, Sink, Strawberries, Ben'Imana, We Are All Strangers and The Other Side of the Sun. The twelfth, Angh, qualified to submit directly after winning the Platform Award at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, under new Academy rules for this edition that open the category to winners of selected festival prizes.

Foundation CEO Faisal Baltyuor called it "an extraordinary moment of pride for the Red Sea Film Foundation" that twelve supported films had reached the race, adding that being chosen by their countries was "a significant recognition of the filmmakers and their work" and reflected the foundation's commitment to backing filmmakers from early development to the international stage.

The news rounds off a busy year for foundation-backed films at Cannes, Venice and Toronto. Eight supported titles screened at TIFF 2026, the foundation's largest presence there, and Ben'Imana, now Rwanda's official entry, won the Camera d'Or at Cannes earlier in the year.

The Best International Feature shortlist will be announced on 15 December 2026 and the nominations on 21 January 2027, ahead of the 99th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on 14 March 2027.