Latest news with #ZaidShaker
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Film AlUla: 'Saudi Filmmakers Are Like the Crown Jewels for Us'
In such a fast-moving industry, it can be easy to forget that, a mere six or so years ago, there was no film scene whatsoever in Saudi Arabia. The country has only been welcoming non-religious tourists since 2019, a year after cinemas reopened following a near 40-year ban. Now there are more than 800 to choose from. It's no wonder then, that Saudi-born Film AlUla acting executive director Zaid Shaker is buzzing with excitement. Perhaps even more so after 10 months in the role, since taking it on in July. 'All the pieces of the puzzle are falling into the right places,' says Shaker, who leads Film AlUla's mission to support film and TV production in the northwest region of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's oldest UNESCO heritage site. 'We have lots of momentum. The [Saudi film] industry is thriving,' he continues. 'What's happening in AlUla is big, and I'm working with a fabulous team [that] makes any job easy. So, yes, I'm still very excited.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Palestine Film Institute Drums Up Support in Cannes - for Films and Gaza Eurovision 2025: Austria Wins Song Contest With Johannes Pietsch, Israel Places Second 'Die My Love' Review: Jennifer Lawrence Spirals Into Psychosis While Robert Pattinson Plunges Into Despair in Lynne Ramsay's Jarring Character Study Film AlUla Studios opened last spring and features 26,000-square-foot soundstages and a 61,500-square-foot backlot and also acts as a government liaison to support permitting and rebate or incentive applications. THR caught up with Shaker to find out how they've put the facility to use since opening, what additional spaces have already been added, and his thoughts on the continued growth of the Saudi film sector. Congratulations on the collaboration with MBS MENA Limited, made public this month. Has it already led to increased interest? Absolutely. We've had enquiries from studios and streamers eager to explore the facilities. We have strong momentum building for Q3 [the third quarter] and Q4, with a robust pipeline of local, regional, and international productions. Any new offerings for filmmakers we can share? Our state-of-the-art facilities are operation-ready: We are ready to receive our first film. It's looking very good. We have exciting news, which we'll be sharing soon, hopefully. Within our new facilities, we have a cutting-edge recording studio that can accompany a full orchestra. We have finalized the production hub, which is a creative space that can support filmmakers. And we have an amazing activation space within the facilities. Can you share details of any new confirmed shoots? This year, we are waiting to announce the first feature film production within the umbrella of the Stampede Arabia slate of films [which grew out of a pact with L.A.-based Stampede Ventures, run by Hollywood veteran Greg Silverman], which is very exciting. And there are also a couple of interesting talks. Are more companies coming to use the studio space or to take advantage of the location, or both? It's equally both. They're complementary. We can accommodate parallel productions: You can have a full production, shooting everything on the ground, and at the same time have two separate high-end productions shooting at the studio. AlUla has wonderful scenery and locations, these UNESCO heritage sites. But when it's really hot weather, people also need to be able to shoot indoors. So this gives you the ability to invite productions all year round. Have any new initiatives been introduced to speed up the growth of a skilled local workforce? Every initiative we do is centered around the local community: honing and up-skilling crew. We always incentivize training and have lots of programs with different partners, so we have these sort of continuous workshops to be able to raise the bar and introduce a sustainable film crew within the boundaries of AlUla. This is definitely evident in recent films such as [2023's] Norah, which was the first feature film from Saudi to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival: 40 percent of its crew was local. With Siwar, the most recent film by Osama Alkhurayji, which opened the Saudi Film Festival, 80 percent of the crew was local — so, double. AlUla Creates, meanwhile, is a very high-level and detailed training capacity-building program, which has yielded three short films, some of which screened at the Red Sea Film Festival. Will there be rough quotas for the percentage of Saudi employees on each project? While there are no fixed quotas, employing Saudi nationals — particularly in studio operations and support roles — is a key objective. AlUla's vibrant population of 65,000, with 65% under the age of 30, represents an incredible pool of dynamic, emerging talent. We also focus on strengthening the local economy by sourcing goods from local artisans and championing community-driven businesses. What new environmental practices have been introduced in AlUla? AlUla has lots of cultural significance. We are guardians and custodians of our important UNESCO heritage sites. For us, sustainability is a 360-degree approach toward everything. Lots of our incentives are granted to productions based on their sustainability measures, whether it's green or abiding by best international practices. Also, internally, we make sure to have all of our team attend every relevant seminar to keep up-to-date with every sustainable practice. Following 's Cannes success, which other local Saudi films are creating noise on the global scene, or which do you predict will? Looking forward, we have Hijra by Saudi filmmaker Shahad Ameen [the follow-up to 2019's Scales, which was Saudi's official Oscar submission in 2020]. It should be releasing at the end of this year. Some scenes were shot in AlUla, which is a testament to the fact that we never perceive any production as a one-time [thing]. And I have to mention Abdulaziz Alshlahei's Hobal [about a Bedouin family living in extreme isolation in the '90s], which, though not shot in AlUla, was a great stride for the Saudi ecosystem. Saudi filmmakers are like the crown jewels for us because, ultimately, one of the most important things we do is export our culture and enable these amazing storytellers. The Saudi Film industry launched with big fanfare from 2018. What is the focus now? To attract big buzzy international projects or foster more Saudi projects? The answer is somewhat holistic. For me, the more I am able to attract international films, the more I am able to introduce some sort of real-time training, shadowing programs to support local content. We have the bandwidth to entertain both, so it's about focusing. What stands out as an achievement you're proud of so far at AlUla? I am really proud of my team's resilience and persistence and how we are able to move ahead. The studios have a very personal spot in my heart. It was heartwarming to see the Saudi Film Festival opened by Siwar, a film shot in AlUla, this year. I'm also obviously proud of Norah. But for me, the studios — you have to see them to believe them. What's the Saudi film industry generally like right now? The kingdom now boasts more than 800 screens in a country that, eight or nine years ago, didn't have cinemas. Now you're talking about 42 percent of all of the Middle East box office revenue coming from Saudi. I bother all of my friends and family with this. The success of Hobal this year is a testimony that the audience in Saudi is very receptive, not only to commercial cinema but for unique stories. Whatever is happening in the MENA region, it's within the heart of Saudi and we're very fortunate to be working in AlUla and witnessing this and being a catalyst for what's happening. You're seeing it when you attend amazing platforms such as the Red Sea Film Festival or the Saudi Film Festival. You can see that [the Saudi industry is] brimming with this positive energy, this dialogue, [with] so many youths engulfed with this power of cinema. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
Arab News
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
AlUla a ‘cinematic wonder,' says exec on 5th anniversary of Saudi Arabia's Film AlUla
CANNES: AlUla's natural landscapes are fast becoming a national icon for Saudi Arabia, attracting tourists who wish to experience the scenes for themselves. But since the inception of Film AlUla, the region's film agency, its sand dunes and historic landmarks have traveled the world through cinema. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ As Film AlUla celebrates its fifth anniversary, Acting Executive Director Zaid Shaker sat down with Arab News to discuss the entity's milestones on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival in France. 'I think that our voice and our positioning (of) Film AlUla as a catalyst in the Saudi film industry has sort of echoed, and now we have amazing infrastructure,' Shaker said. Only seven years ago, cinemas reopened in the Kingdom after a 35-year ban. The establishment of Film AlUla in early 2020, under the mandate of the Royal Commission of AlUla, has played a hand in cementing Saudi Arabia's role in the international film industry. One of Film AlUla's headlining achievements is Tawfik Alzaidi's 'Norah,' released in 2023, which became the first Saudi feature film to premiere at Cannes. The film, which followed the story of a young girl in the 1990s with a thirst for artistic expression, featured a crew made up of 40 percent AlUla locals. This year, first-time director Osama Al Khurayji's 'Siwar' was the opener for the Saudi Film Festival, held at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran in April. The film follows two families, one Saudi and one Turkish, as they navigate societal challenges and personal upheavals. Here, AlUla acts as a stand in for the southern city of Najran and the shoot featured an 80 percent local crew. Film AlUla executives have long emphasized training the local community as part of their core mission. The area is home to roughly 65,000 residents, the executive said, and one of the core factors to creating a sustainable film sector is establishing a well-trained local crew. This is done through training programs for capacity-building and skill refinement. 'Whenever we work on attracting an international production, our organic by-product is sort of upskilling the locals so that they can take this forward and start narrating their own stories,' Shaker said. The entity recently announced a partnership with Manhattan Beach Studios, which operates more than 600 sound stages around the globe, as operators for their local facilities. 'We try to do everything looking at very high quality and the highest of standards… In partnering with MB Studios to manage our cutting-edge, state-of-the-art facilities, we are showing commitment locally, regionally and internationally, that our positioning is real, and that we offer a seamless, advanced experience to every storyteller that comes to AlUla,' Shaker said. Some of the first major Hollywood productions to shoot in the region were Anthony and Joe Russo's drama 'Cherry,' and Ric Roman Waugh's 'Kandahar,' and others followed. In 2024 alone, AlUla hosted 85 projects, ranging from films and TV series to commercials and music videos. These productions are largely incentivized by the country's rebates policies, operated under the umbrella of the Saudi Film Commission and the National Rebate Fund. 'We offer 40 percent rebates and an uplift of 10 percent incentives, which are usually designed based on training programs and marketing efforts,' he said. This rebate can be elevated to 50 percent when Saudi nationals are employed in key roles within the production. 'AlUla is blessed with a vast, diverse collection of amazing locations. It's awe inspiring — it's a cinematic wonder in itself. So part of the attraction and work in bringing productions and building a film sector relies on the sense of location,' Shaker said. 'It's building on this amazing backdrop, which spans, in its history, more than 200,000 years. The … location has witnessed lots of cultures, lots of civilizations, lots of stories. It's how we position these amazing, inspiring locations to be pivotal characters in any audio-visual production.'
Muscat Daily
07-05-2025
- Business
- Muscat Daily
Film AlUla partners with MBS group to operate AlUla Studios
Al Ula, Saudi Arabia – Film AlUla has signed an exclusive deal with global studio operator The MBS Group to manage and run its state-of-the-art AlUla Studios, marking MBS's first venture into the MENA region. The agreement establishes MBS MENA Limited, a new regional division that will oversee day-to-day operations, maximise studio usage, and attract international productions to Saudi Arabia. World-class facilities in historic Al Ula AlUla Studios features two 25,828 sq. ft. soundstages, production offices, set construction workshops, wardrobe and prop departments, a recording studio for a 32-piece orchestra, and extensive backlot space — all set against the backdrop of AlUla's dramatic landscapes and the UNESCO-listed site of Hegra. Boost for Saudi film sector This partnership supports Film AlUla's mission to position Saudi Arabia as a global production hub. It also aims to develop local talent, introduce cutting-edge technologies like virtual production, and draw top-tier international projects. Strategic leap forward Jason Hariton, Chief Studio & Real Estate Officer at The MBS Group, called AlUla 'a world-class destination for filmmakers.' Zaid Shaker, Acting Executive Director of Film AlUla, said the partnership 'anchors long-term growth and puts AlUla on the global film map.'
