Hollywood and international producers looking for new film projects to finance amid a severe industry contraction turned their attention on Saturday to Saudi Arabia and its booming film market and soft money.
“I guarantee you, we are the next big thing. Saudi Arabia is the next big thing,” Zeinab Abu Alsamh said at the Red Sea Film Festival on Saturday titled “Searching for the next Big Events” said during a panel discussion. She serves as general manager of MBC Studios, a Middle Eastern production giant based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Her comments come after the country launched a series of soft-money schemes for local and foreign companies to help build the country’s film and television industry from the ground up. International film producers and packaging agencies adapting to unprecedented industry disruption say they trust her as they talk about taking advantage of Saudi Arabia’s growing infrastructure and financial incentives on offer.
Filmnation Entertainment chief executive Glen Basner, attending the Red Sea Film Festival for the first time, said he admired the region’s talent and soft-money opportunities. “One, it’s a place to really learn how to make movies here, what the competition is and why it’s financially attractive. Second, get to know the emerging talent in the area. Just walk around the souk today and see With all the promos and videos, from a creative filmmaking standpoint, I’m really excited about what’s going on here,” Basner said at the festival conference.
Panelists were also concerned about how to finance films by tapping international soft money, as traditional pay-TV players have become more budget-conscious and are exiting the independent market, at least for now.
Katie Irwin, agent and co-head of international at WME Independent, said her Hollywood agency doesn’t have enough of a chance to see the independent film market grow like never before before placing its next bet on a film project. What changes happen in industrial chaos. “We have to lead the market, not just follow it,” she said.
This is especially challenging when looking for diamonds in the rough in independent film projects pitched to Hollywood. This is where international incentives and production partners come into play to help offset the impact of declining revenues for foreign pay-TV operators.
“We’re looking at a lot of international co-production opportunities. In the U.S., we don’t have a very comprehensive system. But it opens up opportunities for local and regional filmmakers,” Owen said.
Fremantle chief operating officer Seb Shorr also pointed to soft money and international co-production funding as ways to assemble film projects in foreign markets where his company already operates. (Fremantle has no film sales arm, so it works closely with Hollywood and international financiers.)
“We do have experience and resources and the ability to use soft money to execute missions in all different countries is a big advantage for us,” Shore insisted. He added that Freemantle had worked extensively in Italy and Spain, had seen tax credits in Germany and was preparing to produce a film in Australia.
“We’re pretty opportunistic about each project and the best structure,” Shore said.
The Red Sea Film Festival runs until December 14th.
