A non-profit organization based in Berlin that is focused on creating networking opportunities between Arab filmmakers and their counterparts around the globe — is scheduled to hold two panels as part of the activities of the upcoming edition of the Berlin International Film Festival’s (Berlinale) European Film Market.
The first panel, entitled “Arab Box Office Bonanza”, to be moderated by Deadline’s Senior International Film Correspondent Melanie Goodfellow, will address the MENA region’s record-breaking box-office revenues which are now approaching an unprecedented $1 billion, powered by astonishing cinema attendance figures in both the U.A.E. and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, together with new milestones for independent Arab-language features in other countries such as Egypt.
The panel will look at the surging success of local-language film titles, how well MENA holds up against other regions’ theatrical revenues right now, and what the post-pandemic future holds for the cinema exhibition business in the Arab World even in the face of strong local competition from social media and streaming services.
The second panel, entitled “International Tipping Point for Saudi Filmmaking”, to be moderated by Screen International’s International News Editor Michael Rosser, will explore how far the Saudi film industry has developed since its inception only twelve years ago. Saudi films are becoming a permanent yearly fixture across the global festival circuit, a testament to the country’s extraordinary efforts to bolster both its filmmaking and audience-watching infrastructure, with the establishment of prominent theater chains across the KSA and the creation of NEOM a pioneering media hub hosting the MENA region’s largest pur00pose-built facility. It serves as a premier shooting location for global content production, having hosted 35 productions within the last two years. As part of this discussion, the panel will explore how Saudi Arabia will fit into both the regional and global film industry ecosystem as an international production partner.
Among the speakers confirmed for these panels so far are:
Wayne Borg, Managing Director of Media Industries, NEOM
Gianluca Chakra, CEO, Front Row Entertainment
Mario Haddad Jr., President of Distribution, Empire International
Alaa Karkouti, CEO, MAD Solutions
Mohannad Al-Bakri, Managing Director of the Jordanian Royal Film Commission (RFC)
Amjad Abu Alala, Film Director/Producer
Alaa Fadan, CEO & Chairman, Telfaz11
