Cultural exchange drives Saudi Arabia’s emergent film industry

Such has been the case with the emergent Saudi film industry. In the six years since cinema restrictions were lifted in 2018, Saudi Arabia has taken big strides to become one of the region’s leading film production markets with massive investment linked to the country’s 2030 strategy which includes a set of objectives and considerable investment designed to bolster the creative economy. The aim is to increase the contribution of the entertainment sector to 3% of GDP, generating over $23 billion in revenue and creating over 100,000 jobs by the year 2030.

The Saudi film industry’s progress has been nothing short of jaw-dropping both behind and in front of the silver screen. From a viewership standpoint, 2023 was a great year for Saudi’s box office with local theaters witnessing 20% year-on-year growth with 443 films released, attracting over 17.4 million moviegoers. This placed Saudi in the 15th spot in box office rankings worldwide, with ticket sales surpassing $240 million.

Behind the camera, the progress has been equally impressive with production houses setting up shop, investment pouring in, and more film festivals shining a spotlight on Saudi films and the talent creating them. As of 2023, Saudi Arabia holds more than 32,000 square meters of available studio space, including 11 sound stages larger than 1,500 square meters. Additionally, multiple studios are under development in various cities across the country, equipped with world-class production facilities.

But behind the gaudy numbers lies a cultural objective. The Saudi Arabian national identity is reflected in the art, music, and fashion of the Kingdom. And the creative industry plays a vital role in preserving and promoting these cultural treasures. In a very short time frame the Saudi film industry has shown an uncanny ability to cross borders and create new connections, bringing world culture to the Kingdom and, conversely, presenting the Saudi experience to the world.

Ithra Film Production a driving force

Standing at the crossroads of these two emergent trends is Ithra Film Production, a film commissioning and funding entity run by the King Abdulaziz World Cultural Center (Ithra) as part of its overarching mission to support the Kingdom’s creative economy by enabling talent, supporting content production and encouraging cross-cultural exchange that promotes social harmony and human development.

Ithra Film Production seeks to highlight Saudi stories and discover new voices and creative storytellers with the ultimate goal of having their films showcased on national and international platforms. Since its first film in 2018, IFP has funded 20 titles and produced four which have been showcased at 95 film festivals across the globe winning 34 awards.

This includes Hajjan, which earlier this year won three awards at the Gulf Film Festival including Best Feature, Best Actor and Best Cinematography.

Most recently, Ithra Film Production confirmed 15 winners, including 11 short films and four feature films, from 170 submissions received over the past year from emerging Saudi filmmakers vying to take their concepts from the drawing board to silver screens across the globe.

After wrapping up another successful Saudi Film Festival, organized by the Cinema Association in partnership with Ithra, and with the support of the Saudi Film Commission, Ithra Film Production made another appearance at the Cannes Film Festival to connect with the broader industry and continue its mission of promoting Saudi films and filmmakers on the international stage. Part of that presence included convening a panel to shed light on the perspectives of Saudi filmmakers on the Kingdom’s rapidly evolving industry.

“As a society we are used to telling tales…lessons that we want to pass on. Nowadays, we have the opportunity to showcase to the rest of the world what the Saudi family structure looks like inside, the issues that we struggle with and the cultural values that we celebrate,” said Saudi filmmaker Hamzah Jamjoom whose past works include Rupture (2021), Candyman (2021) and Factory of Lies (2012).

“It’s incredible that we as filmmakers are normalizing our image as Saudis and showing the rest of the world who we truly are.”

Director, writer and actress Raneem Almohandes, best known for short films “A Swing” (2022) and Namoosah (2024) concurred. “Saudi film is emerging on the international scene. It’s always a local story that we make accessible to a global audience and give a global perspective to. It’s so overwhelming and exciting just how fast-paced the change is. Now we are seeing the participation of Saudi Arabia on this global platform in Cannes and we’ve only just started making waves.”

Mansour Al Badran, Cinema Coordinator at Ithra pointed to Hajjan, one of Ithra Film Production’s most successful ventures, as a case-in-point. “We produced Hajjan very much in that vein, showcasing the importance of camels in Saudi culture. It was centred around a Saudi Arabian sport that maybe people had heard about. I think we were quite successful in making that happen with a film that beautifully captures that.”

Over the past six years, IFP has also introduced a range of initiatives aimed at providing platforms for film producers, advancing standards of excellence in filmmaking and empowering new talent. IFP also hosts numerous workshops and seminars in the field of representation and production, writing and directing, among others. And the success story is only just beginning.

“Finally, we have the microphone,” summed up Jamjoom. “Finally, we have the opportunity to use art and give a nod to our culture, our faith and our country.”