By : Marwa Mahmoud
Film industry in Saudi Arabia aims to improve the quality of life and enhance national economy by increasing cultural awareness; officials expected that the number of cinemas will reach 80 houses with about 700 screens by the end 2020.
The CEO of General Authority for Audiovisual Media , Bader Al-Zahrani, believes that Saudi cinema will be one of the sources of income diversification in the entertainment sector, as it will contribute to increasing the gross domestic product as well as increasing spending on local entertainment.
Concerns estimated that working in the film sector would have an economic impact that would lead to an increase in the size of the media market, stimulate growth and economic diversification by contributing more than $ 24 billion to the gross domestic product, and creating more than 30,000 permanent jobs, in addition to more than 130,000 jobs temporary by 2030.
The “Saudi Build Cinema” forum, which was held for the past two days, brought together regional and international specialists and experts to discuss the latest technologies in the field of design and construction of cinemas.
The Board of Directors of the General Authority for Audiovisual Media in Saudi Arabia agreed in December 2017 to issue licenses for those wishing to open movie theaters in Saudi Arabia. On April 18, 2018, the first cinema was opened in the capital, Riyadh, then on January 28. 121 films were released, 92 movie advertisements, 47 DVD film 19 cinematic and television scripts.
Al-Zahrani explained that their exerted efforts aim to encourage national companies, and to attract foreign investments to enter this field.
