Saudi Film Confex opens in Riyadh

The Saudi Film Confex opened on Sunday at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Convention Center.

The four-day event, hosted by the Saudi Film Commission, seeks to promote the social, cultural and economic value of cinema and brings together industry experts, executives and investors from around the world.

During a discussion titled “Film as a Catalyst for National Economic Growth: Aspects and Features,” the panel explored ways to extend the influence of the film industry on other economic sectors, such as tourism, entertainment, technology and innovation.

Jason Cloth, the founder of film and TV financing company Creative Wealth Media, said the movie industry underwent significant changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people increasingly turned to streaming platforms.

“The pandemic changed people’s viewing habits,” he said. “We see box office numbers dropping a bit and transactional numbers increasing quite a bit. The bigger issue with the studio releases is the budget sizes.”

If box office numbers failed to improve, it would be difficult to release some large-budget films, he said.

Tariq Bin Ammar, a Tunisian-French film producer and founder of Quinta Communications, was also on the panel.

“For Tunisia, I spent a billion dollars in foreign currency with never any local finance, because we knew we didn’t have the money,” he said.

“As for Saudi Arabia, it does not need foreign consultants anymore. With all due respect for our American and English friends, Saudi Arabia is capable, and in a very few years it will be totally independent.”

He added: “When Italian, French, English or American producers and directors make movies they make them for themselves, for their people.”

In contrast, Saudi Arabia produced films for both local and international audiences, he said.

Nabeel Koshak, CEO of Saudi Venture Capital Co., said: “I would say the filmmaking movement in Saudi Arabia definitely has funding as a crucial component of this ecosystem.”

Over the past five years, the government had provided $2 billion in funding for the industry, he said.