Saudi Arabia has, as expected, thrown its considerable financial muscle behind attracting big-budget international productions to its shores and boosting local filmmaking.
On Monday, the country, which only opened its first cinema in 2018 after a 35-year ban, unveiled a healthy incentives package for features, documentaries and animation, including a highly competitive cash rebate equal to 40 percent of total qualifying spend. Organized by the Saudi Film Commission, the scheme is expected to receive its first applications by the end of Q1 2022, with a new platform set to be launched.
The incentive package is likely to give other regional production hubs something to think about. Jordan, the traditional home for major Hollywood shoots (including the likes of Dune and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker), has a 25 percent cash rebate scheme whereas Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where Mission: Impossible — Fallout and Furious 7 filmed, has a 30 percent package.
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The news was announced from the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival, Saudi Arabia’s first full-fledged film festival currently taking place in the coastal city of Jeddah. Underlining just how far the country’s nascent film industry has come in only a few years, it was also unveiled just weeks after the biggest film to ever shoot in the kingdom was first announced, the $100+ million Desert Warrior starring Anthony Mackie. Meanwhile, the second-largest, the Gerard Butler action-thriller Kandahar, recently kicked off production.
“We have been working hard to develop a competitive incentive package for local and international movie makers and content creators. Our ambition is high, we want Saudi to become a global hub for film, creative production and industry talent,” said Film Commission CEO Abdullah Al Eyaf. “The benefits of developing a world class film industry go beyond the sector and will strengthen the Saudi cultural ecosystem as a whole, driving economic growth and creating jobs across the country.”
