Ithra Puts Production Partnerships at the Heart of Its TIFF 2026 Presence

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published September 12, 2026

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The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) is placing new film production and financing partnerships at the center of its presence at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, using the Ithra Film Fund to connect Saudi projects and talent with international filmmakers, producers and potential partners as the fund’s current application cycle approaches its September 30 deadline.

The timing gives Ithra’s participation a practical dimension. TIFF runs from September 10 to 20, just days before applications close for the fund’s current cycle, which opened on June 26. The festival therefore gives Ithra an opportunity to engage directly with producers, filmmakers and cinema organizations from different markets while applications are still being accepted.

Ithra is participating in the Saudi pavilion alongside the Saudi Film Commission, Film AlUla and the Red Sea International Film Festival. Its focus this year, however, is closely tied to the role it wants the film fund to play in the next stage of Saudi filmmaking, rather than simply showcasing the center’s activities or promoting the Kingdom’s growing film industry.

The Ithra Film Fund supports projects across three stages — development, production and post-production — through a co-financing model. International production companies are also eligible to participate, provided they have a co-production agreement with a licensed Saudi production company or include a Saudi or Saudi-based producer among the project’s core team.

That international component makes partnership-building an integral part of the fund itself. Its purpose extends beyond financing films within Saudi Arabia to creating links between Saudi producers and talent and international partners who can contribute to developing, financing and producing projects and helping them reach wider markets and festivals.

Ithra’s 2026 presence also marks a development from its previous experience at TIFF. In 2023, the center’s participation coincided with the world premiere of “Hajjan” in the festival’s Discovery program. The film was produced by Ithra in collaboration with Film Clinic before continuing on to other festivals and markets.

While the 2023 appearance offered an example of a completed Saudi film reaching the Toronto screen, this year’s participation shifts attention to an earlier stage of the filmmaking process: identifying projects, partners and financing structures that could help develop new films capable of eventually reaching international platforms and festivals.

That approach is reinforced by the fund’s production-track requirements. Projects must secure financing from sources in addition to Ithra’s grant, while at least 50 percent of live-action scenes and locations must be filmed in Saudi Arabia, or the principal animation work must be carried out locally. These conditions make co-production and the involvement of additional partners central to the program’s structure.