Red Sea Fund and Film AlUla partner on production grant

The Red Sea Fund and Film AlUla have partnered to provide filmmakers a production grant to develop projects set in AlUla, northwest Saudi Arabia.

At least 10 projects from Saudi Arabia, the Arab regions and Africa will be selected to receive grants as part of Red Sea Fund’s third production cycle.

Filmmakers will have creative licence with their projects and will be judged on production quality, talent, and script. However, a portion of each project must be filmed in AlUla, with feature films requiring 15% screen time and shorts requiring 40%.

In addition to the grant, projects will receive additional financial, logistical and administrative support on-the-ground.

Speaking about the grant, Mohammed Al Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation expressed his optimism about the partnership and how it will support talent from the two regions.

“Our aim as an organisation is to uplift and support filmmakers from the Arab and African region and to promote the industry in Saudi Arabia – which is home to incredible filming locations like AlUla. We are delighted to have Film AlUla as a partner on this third cycle of funding, which will provide fund recipients the opportunity to bring their creative visions to life on the big screen as well as showcase the beauty and diversity of this country, with the backing of two significant partners," said Al Turki.

The films selected for funding will name the Red Sea Fund and Film AlUla as co-producers and Saudi Arabia as a co-production country.

The Red Sea Film Fund launched in 2021 with a budget of $10m to support emerging filmmakers and established directors from the Arab world and Africa.

Film AlUla, the film agency of the Royal Commission for AlUla, is helping drive the development of the film and TV industry in the northwest part of the country, with two new studios scheduled to open in August this year.