A new dawn for Arab cinema
‘Some would say the impossible happened.’ As was espoused by Variety, Hollywood’s industry reference, in March 2012 about a globally-significant cultural event in Saudi Arabia. What exactly happened?
That same month, legendary Hollywood producer, Jake Eberts, was at work on securing yet another milestone achievement in global cinema, despite the 37 Oscars his films had already won. This time, however, it would be a docu-drama, ‘Journey to Mecca’, that would make history. Produced with the help of businessman Dr. Abdul Rehman Al Zamil, the film would ha a glorious homecoming on 4 March 2012: the first film to have a Royal Film Premiere in the Kingdom, as part of the Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) under the Royal Court’s patronage.
What Variety had deemed impossible was no easy feat. In 2010, the current Saudi Minister of Commerce, HE Dr. Majid Al Qasabi, had procured strategists to catalyse socio-economic change. In 2012, Dr Lama Al-Sulaiman, JEF Vice-Chair, then delivered the premiere which made front pages in Hollywood. Three months later, the Audio-Visual Commission was launched. Four year hence, the Minister and Dr. Al-Sulaiman were appointed to the Board of the General Entertainment Authority.
On 18 April 2019, seven years later, Ebert’s dream and that of the Saudis who had shepherded this change, came full circle. ‘Black Panther’, Marvel’s groundbreaking movie about an African superhero, became the first film to be shown in a cinema in Saudi Arabia in four decades.
With the realisation of one Arabian cinematic dream, another is emerging. The launch of the Saudi Film Council and PIF’s potential strategic stake in talent agency, WME, co-led by Ari Emanuel, represent the nascent institutionalisation of an industry. Whist WME has launched its own content division, content can be king in the Kingdom, too, where Arabian stories are now highlighted. The 1962 epic ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, depicts the start of a desert raid with the line, ‘This was Talal’s village’, before the obscured Talal initiates a solo charge. Whilst T.E Lawrence’s story became universal, the story of Talal of Arabia, like many others, is yet to be told.
But what could genuinely elevate the Arabian cinematic industry is when content becomes queen, as Saudi Arabian women continue to crossover into Hollywood. Haifaa Al-Mansour, director of the acclaimed film ‘Wajdja’, now works with UTA agent Rena Ronson, whilst actresses such as Ahd Kamel and Dina Shihabi have appeared in Netflix and Amazon series.
The Arabian Cinematic Dream has been built on the achievements of many, some contributions silent, other contributors long gone. As their feats are recorded for posterity, the future looks bright with new Arabian stories ready to be showcased to the world, with talent from its own sands, both men and women.
Talal Malik is the Chairman and CEO of conglomerate Alpha1Corp and its entertainment arm, Alpha1Media. His feature film project NANO was recognised as one of the best new scripts for 2018 by judges including 40 Oscar, Golden Globe, Bafta and Emmy award winners.
