The Film Commission, on Sunday, launched a strategy to develop the Kingdom’s film and cinema sector that will establish Saudi Arabia as a world-class film hub.

With various filmmakers choosing Saudi Arabia as their shooting locations, Saudi Arabia’s Film Commission has taken another step to put the Kingdom on a global platform in the cinema division.

The Film Commission, on Sunday, launched a strategy to develop the Kingdom’s film and cinema sector that will establish Saudi Arabia as a world-class film hub and build an industry with a revenue of $500 million.

Held under the patronage of Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, the minister of culture and chairman of the commission, the event was launched ahead of the Kingdom’s inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival (RedSeaIFF).

During the event, the Film Commission said that a new Saudi Film Institute will be launched, dedicated to film production and professional training in cinematic storytelling, and wider creative and technical skills, such as sound engineering and animation.

The Film Commission also unveiled the establishment of a National Archive of Films through the collection, for the digitization and preservation of historical Saudi films and audio-visual content, while also preserving the equipment used.

“The Saudi film sector has gone from strength to strength with the emergence of the sector providing once-in-a-lifetime business opportunities and partnerships. The strategy provides our roadmap to achieve our aspirations of making Saudi a global hub for film production and talent. The cinema industry in Saudi is one of the fastest-growing in the Middle East, which is further evidence that the Saudi film sector is the emerging market to watch,” said CEO of Film Commission Abdullah Al-Qhatani.

The Commission’s strategy focuses on six strategic pillars, including homegrown talent development, infrastructure advancement, local production in the Kingdom, attracting further international production houses, embedding a regulatory framework that enhances the quick development of the sector, film distribution in regional and international markets and screening.

The aim is to increase direct contribution to the gross domestic product, increase the number of job opportunities in the film sector, and increase the number of locally produced feature films, the commission said.

The Film Commission is one of 11 cultural bodies affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and was established last year, in February.