Red Sea Film Festival Shuts Down Due to Heavy Rainstorm, Team Prioritizes Guests Safety

Soaked festival-goers were still trying to bypass confused security guards when lauded American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky unexpectedly entered Cinema 1 at the Red Sea Film Festival home of Culture Square on Tuesday afternoon to give an update on his scheduled career talk: the event was going ahead, despite the festival’s several warnings that the audience might “need to evacuate at any minute.” “You’ve got to get better sewers,” he joked.

This feeling of confusion and urgency permeated the early afternoon at the Saudi festival as emails piled in announcing cancelled events, suspended shuttles and last-minute safeguarding measures due to the rainstorm hitting Jeddah. “Due to the unstable weather and heavy rainfall in Jeddah today, Culture Square and the Red Sea Souk will be closed for the remainder of the day to ensure everyone’s safety,” said a festival email. “All screenings, activities and programs today have been cancelled.”

A message sent to guests at 1.35 PM local time asked attendees to “remain at the hotel,” with more information to be made available “as the weather clears up.” The official festival statement says: “Due to the inclement weather and the associated logistical challenges, we have decided to cancel all events, sessions and premieres scheduled for this afternoon and evening.”

Events scheduled for today included an in conversation event with jury member Riz Ahmed, and screenings of festival hits such as Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât” and Cherien Dabis’ “All That’s Left of You.”

International journalists and market attendees were all puzzled as the situation unravelled. As the rain fell, the Saudi city, which is not prepared to cope with even light showers, quickly began to flood. Streets near Culture Square resembled rivers within the hour. Speaking with Variety, local festival attendees on the ground said Jeddah only sees rain like it once a year, and there is no infrastructure to ensure smooth drainage. To illustrate how rare such rainfall is in the city, at Culture Square, a young Saudi girl began running following a particularly loud thunder strike as it was the first time she was confronted with the sound. At the time of this report, the skies are once again blue, but guests are being asked to evacuate both the Souk and Culture Square.

More to come…