Saudi Arabia's Hollywood dream
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 796 Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2025
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today we’re in Jeddah, looking at how Saudi Arabia went from a Kingdom where cinemas were banned to a rising star in the film industry.
We hear from Saudis revelling in new-found freedoms and foreign filmmakers lured in by cash incentives.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]
Presented and produced by Emily Wither
(Picture: US actor Johnny Depp poses for a picture with a fan on the red carpet of the awards ceremony of the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, December 2024. Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This year we have 10 international premieres and 43-Mela premieres. |
| 0:06.1 | Hello, welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:10.2 | I'm Emily Wither, joining you from Saudi Arabia. |
| 0:13.3 | I've come to the Red Sea International Film Festival right in the heart of the old town in Jeddah. |
| 0:19.5 | I'm standing on a red carpet under a huge banner that |
| 0:23.8 | reads the new home of film. There are hundreds of people here, Hollywood stars, top executives |
| 0:30.6 | from L.A., and filmmakers from across the region. It's pretty incredible to witness an event like this, given that until |
| 0:39.9 | fairly recently, cinemas were banned here in the kingdom. I think this has become such a center |
| 0:47.2 | hub for business in general, Saudi Arabia, that seeing the demand of how many people want to work |
| 0:53.8 | and be a part of the next generation of what Saudi has to offer |
| 0:56.4 | is going to reinvigorate what cinema is. |
| 0:59.4 | Well, I think it's an opportunity to grow |
| 1:01.8 | and it's an opportunity to shine. |
| 1:04.5 | And also, it's in its own time. |
| 1:06.1 | I think every region is unique. |
| 1:09.5 | So women here are unique. |
| 1:11.9 | Their stories are unique. |
| 1:16.6 | As an outsider, it's easy to underestimate what a big event this film festival now is. |
| 1:23.5 | Until 2018, Saudis couldn't mix freely with members of the opposite sex. |
| 1:29.0 | They hadn't been able to experience entertainment in public. |
| 1:33.3 | And there were strict rules around what women could wear, while their work opportunities |
| 1:37.9 | were extremely limited. |
... |
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