Film AlUla Using Tax Rebates and a Focus on Talent Development to Attract New Productions to Saudi

In the four years since first being established in early 2020 by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), Film AlUla has quickly positioned itself as one of the fastest-rising film destinations in the Middle East. The film agency is mandated to promote and support international, regional, and local film and TV production whilst protecting and safeguarding AlUla, a region of outstanding natural and cultural significance in Saudi Arabia. 

Aware of how local talent development and growing trained crews in Saudi is vital to their ambitions of becoming a global media hub, Film AlUla has established partnerships with initiatives like the Red Sea International Film Festival’s Red Sea Lodge. As one of the talent development program’s sponsors AlUla, helped fund creative retreats and trips to film sets for filmmakers participating in the Lodge, where they had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience on projects like Johnny Depp’s upcoming directorial effort “Modi,” which will have its world premiere at San Sebastian later this month.

But, of course, the great priority is to attract projects to shoot in AlUla. One of the main hurdles in bringing more international productions to Saudi is making the bureaucracy seem less daunting to American and European teams, who might be unfamiliar with working in the region. The new Acting Executive Director of Film AlUla Zaid Shaker told Variety how Film AlUla can offer international teams support in optimizing the country’s attractive 40% tax rebate and navigating production regulations, custom clearances, visa applications and filming permits, alongside location scouting and talent recruitment. 

“On top of that, we can further support productions that recruit Saudi crew and talent above and below the line and feature Saudi Arabian culture, history, people, and diverse landscapes to leverage supplementary incentives.”

“Outside of our two, world-class studios, AlUla is home to an array of striking filming locations embedded in an undisturbed natural world, spanning mountain ranges, nature reserves, heritage sites, a 12th-century old town, and 80 natural springs in the oasis,” said Shaker when asked what is AlUla’s differential when it comes to attracting large-scale foreign productions. 

Some leading film titles Film AlUla has supported this year include musician Anderson .Paak’s feature debut “K-POPs!” following a musician from LA who attempts to regain relevancy and reinvigorate his career by joining the band for a K-Pop competition show and Osama Alkhurayji’s debut “Siwar,” about a Turkish and a Saudi family whose fates become intertwined due to a revelation about their newborns. “K-POPs!” will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, while “Siwar” wrapped principal photography in AlUla earlier this year.

One of the greatest success cases to come out of AlUla, however, is “Norah,” the first ever Saudi film to play Cannes. “AlUla greatly contributed to the making of the film in terms of logistical support, filming locations, accommodation, and local crew,” director Tawfik Alzaidi told Variety of his experience shooting in the region. “I am familiar with the geographic area of AlUla, which is considered an artistic museum that narrates a rich human heritage. This parallels the story of ‘Norah’ in depicting the human relationship with art. Film AlUla is a crucial and perhaps the most significant part of the film industry in the Middle East,” he concluded.