Daw Film Competition, an initiative by Saudi Film Commission, aims to support and empower emerging Saudi film talent, and develop the Kingdom’s burgeoning film industry.

The updated version of the competition comes with a new orientation to support professional Saudi filmmakers.

The Film Commission has announced the launch on the sidelines of the Red Sea Film Festival 2022, noting that it will provide non-refundable cash support to film production companies and institutions in Saudi Arabia.

The commission will start receiving requests to apply to the program starting next Sunday, Dec. 11. The application process will have four phases, the first of which will start from Dec. 11 2022 to Jan. 31 2023, and the second from Feb. 1 to Apr. 31, while the third will be from May 1 to Jul. 31. Finally the 4th phase will be from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31.

There will be two paths in the Daw program. The first path is for feature films, where the program will offer support for films that are no less than 40 minutes in length.

The second path is dedicated to supporting short films that do not exceed a maximum of 40 minutes. Both paths include documentaries, animations and feature films.

The support of Daw will focus on the Saudi companies and institutions that are specialized in film production, in addition to foreign production entities that have Saudi partners.

The goal of the program is to increase the efficiency of the film industry in Saudi Arabia, and create a vital, effective and sustainable private sector.

The commission stipulated that all the supported films must be produced by professional filmmakers who are Saudi nationals or are born in Saudi Arabia or are children of Saudi women.

The competition's new orientation aims to support films and strengthen creative content in the Kingdom by encouraging filmmakers and producing companies to produce feature and short films that keep pace with international standards, and also enrich local films by providing them with financial support.