Latest in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s first film festival, the Red Sea International Film Festival, is set to take place in the city of Jeddah between 12 – 21 March, 2020. With a focus on the ‘global south’, the festival’s program will also showcase Arab and international cinema across several sections. Festival director and CEO is Mahmoud…

EXCLUSIVE: Jennifer Hanser, a financial analyst with Deutsche Bank who then went on to work at Merrill Lynch, AOL, FIFA, Major League Baseball and Sony Music Entertainment, has been hired by the Saudi Entertainment Ventures Company (SEVEN) as EVP Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions. Hanser is a key hire. SEVEN was…

The government of Saudi Arabia has said it wants to invest $35B in the country’s entertainment sector with a significant chunk of that money set aside for theatrical growth. The stated investment was unveiled by the General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM), which issues cinema licenses. The aim is to have 2,500…

AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron is over the moon here at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yesterday marked the biggest pre-sales day for the largest exhibitor in the world when Avengers: Endgame went on sale, further proof to what he has been exclaiming for quite some time: Theatrical is still king. No questions about…

The Berlin Film Festival‘s new leadership duo of Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek have revealed some of their new programming team. As anticipated there is a strong Locarno (Chatrian’s former festival) flavour. Chatrian has appointed a seven-member selection committee. Locarno's former head of programming, Marc…

Hasan Minhaj has responded to the Netflix removal of an episode of his Patriot Act show in Saudi Arabia for political reasons. Speaking on Sunday’s mid-season premiere, Minhaj criticized Netflix’s decision to remove the episode from its service in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis claimed that Minhaj’s criticism of Crown…

Call this a case of life intimidating art. Netflix has removed an episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj from streaming in Saudi Arabia after that country's government complained that it showed the kingdom in a negative light. The episode focused on Saudi Arabia in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing…

As controversy continues to swirl around the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, reports are surfacing that Sean Penn is working on a documentary in Turkey about the Washington Post columnist and outspoken critic of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. Al Jazeera and other regional news outlets report that the…

UPDATED: Legendary is categorically denying a report that originated from Reuters today that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is eyeing a $700 million investment in the company. According to the report, the country's Public Investment Fund is considering a stake purchase from Chinese conglomerate Wanda, which…

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is eyeing a $700M investment in Pacific Rim and Jurassic Park studio Legendary Entertainment, according to reports. The country's Public Investment Fund is considering to purchase a stake from Chinese conglomerate Wanda, which bought the company in 2016, according to news agency…

John Cena, one of the WWE’s household names and a crossover star in Hollywood films like Trainwreck, will not take part in Friday’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The company last week confirmed that it will move ahead with the event despite other media and entertainment companies and individuals pulling back or…

Vue International, one of the world's leading exhibitors, is delaying plans to open 30 multiplexes in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Jamal Khashoggi murder, Deadline has confirmed. Earlier this month, Deadline sources said multiple cinema chains were putting their plans on hold until they had more clarity on the…