Hollywood Strikes Cause Saudi Arabia’s RSIFF to Cancel ‘Women in Cinema’ Gala

The big ‘Women in Cinema’ party hosted by the Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) got the boot. Hollywood’s actors and writers are on strike, and it’s causing some serious havoc. RSIFF’s CEO, Mohammed Al-Turki, spilled the beans on Instagram, saying, “Due to the actors’ strike and in solidarity with the actors, we are unable to proceed with the Women in Cinema event scheduled to be held on the 1st of September in Venice, Italy.”

He added: “We remain committed to empowering female talents in front of and behind the camera in our mission to support the industry.”

He’s all about boosting women in the movie biz, both on-screen and behind the scenes. This Women in Cinema gig was meant to celebrate the awesome female talent in the film world. They’ve thrown this shindig at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival before, even hosted it in Saudi Arabia last year for the very first time.

Last year’s gala was a star-studded affair.

You had Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jessica Alba, Frieda Pinto, and plenty of Hollywood A-Listers hanging out in Jeddah. Al-Turki posted pics from those good times on his Instagram account.

 

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A post shared by Mohammed Al Turki (@moalturki)

The Hollywood strikes are shaking up the movie business. The actors from the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the writers from the Writers Guild of America are mainly demanding more money and better contracts, among a host of other demands. This strike has been going on for over 100 days now.

So, no fancy Women in Cinema party for now, but they’re not giving up. Al-Turki has big dreams of welcoming everyone back to celebrate women and their stories real soon.

His caption ended with, “As we work towards future events, we genuinely hope to have the opportunity to welcome guests and celebrate women’s stories in the near future under better circumstances.”