Hijra, a drama that premiered in Venice’s Spotlight sidebar in September and captured the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film, has been chosen by Saudi authorities as the kingdom’s submission for the 2026 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The selection marks a high-profile moment for a nascent film industry that has been rapidly expanding since the official reopening of cinemas in Saudi Arabia in the late 2010s.

The Academy defines the category broadly as "a motion picture produced outside the United States with a predominantly non‑English dialogue track," a designation that places Hijra in direct competition with films that have used festival momentum to achieve global distribution and awards recognition. Venice exposure and the NETPAC jury’s endorsement give Hijra the two things Oscar campaigns covet: critical legitimacy and regional resonance.

The choice also underscores a broader industry trend: Gulf states are increasingly using cultural production as both economic diversification and soft‑power strategy. Saudi investment in cinemas, festivals and production incentives has helped create pipelines for local storytellers and attracted international co‑productions. Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah and government initiatives aligned with Vision 2030 have incentivized filmmakers and private backers to treat cinema as a strategic sector rather than a novelty.

Festival success does not guarantee Academy attention, however. To reach the shortlist and beyond, Hijra will need a well‑resourced awards campaign: targeted screenings for Academy members, subtitled prints, and the kind of publicity that turns festival buzz into long‑term platform deals. In recent years, films from the Middle East and North Africa have translated festival laurels into distribution and awards traction, but they often rely on European or American partners to manage Oscar campaigns and secure U.S. theatrical windows.

Culturally, Hijra’s selection is significant. The film’s title — hijra, Arabic for "migration" or "exodus" — signals themes that resonate across the region: displacement, identity, and the uneasy intersections of modernity and tradition. Saudi film voices have begun to probe social issues with greater nuance, expanding the narrative palette beyond the shock of the kingdom’s public transformations. That artistic growth has a public dimension: films like Hijra can reshape how Saudi society is perceived abroad while also contributing to domestic conversations about change.

The decision to position Hijra on the global stage also brings political and ethical questions. As Saudi Arabia seeks cultural credibility, critics warn that state‑backed promotion of the arts can be intertwined with image‑management strategies that deflect attention from persistent human‑rights concerns. Filmmakers navigating this terrain must weigh the opportunities of international visibility against the backdrop of scrutiny that accompanies high-profile cultural exports.

Regardless of where Hijra lands in the Oscar race, its selection is a milestone for Saudi cinema — an industry moving from nascent festival appearances to concerted participation in the global awards ecosystem. For producers, distributors and cultural policymakers, the film’s impact will be measured not only in nominations but in the deals, audiences and conversations it generates about the kingdom and the wider Arab cinematic renaissance.