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Film AlUla Acting Executive Director Zaid Shaker Says Festival Presence Is Proof of the Saudi Agency’s ‘Ambitions and Capabilities’
Shaker says that the presence of Saudi and Saudi-shot films demonstrates the vitality of the region's production industry.
“We are on the cusp of some major deals for projects and in discussions with studios and productions on their upcoming plans that we’ll be announcing in due course,” Shaker told Variety when asked about what can be expected of his tenure in the position. “AlUla has always had jaw-dropping landscapes and unrivaled travel experiences, but we are now adding new state-of-the-art filming bases which means that we can welcome a whole new kind of production. Since opening its doors in 2020, three years after Saudi Arabia lifted its 35-year ban on cinema and began positioning itself as a rising film production potency, Film AlUla has welcomed hundreds of shoots, including high-profile projects such as “Kandahar,” directed by Ric Roman Waugh and starring Gerard Butler; “Cherry,” starring Tom Holland and directed by Anthony and Joe Russo; and “Norah,” the first Saudi feature film to be shot at AlUla and featuring an all-Saudi cast and a crew that was more than 40% Saudi.
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