The Saudi Film Commission has announced an initiative to help local and international production companies in order to movies in the Kingdom. The announcement was made during the first Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah which stated that the new initiative is an incentive program that aims to support, motivate, and attract production companies to shoot films in the country.
The decision comes as a part of the commission’s key pillars and strategic steps to position Saudi Arabia as a global destination for the film industry. Through the new initiative, aspiring film talents can get a platform to develop and grow in the sector. This will provide them with training programs, including on-the-job training locally and internationally, which will help create more permanent job opportunities within the local film industry.
Through this new initiative, the program will help local film crews, including suppliers who directly serve projects, to benefit through job creation and shedding light on sites offered in the country. The film commission also said that it will cover expenses that come with production projects, from covering the expenses of producers, directors, lead actors and actresses, and screenwriters. It will also cover expenses of production site crews and expenses related to rental equipment and designated production sites.
Over the past few years, Saudi Arabia has been striving to highlight local talent and has been intending to create a hub for local and international film production. In fact, at the Red Sea International Film Festival this year, Saudi talents were one of the highlights of the event. The festival featured world premieres of selected films made by the Kingdom’s emerging talent, with 138 films from over 60 countries in total.