In September, Saudi Arabia launched a $100 million film fund aimed at attracting investment from global film studios to boost the country’s rapidly growing film industry.
In the Saudi Film Fund (known as the Fund), the Saudi Fund for Cultural Development will invest 40% in collaboration with investment bank MEFIC Capital and its technology partner, specialist holding company Roaa Media Ventures.
The fund will be used by the Saudi Film Commission to launch the second Saudi Film Confex conference in Riyadh, where approximately 130 local, regional and international industry executives specializing in production, exhibition and studio construction will attend in October. The announcement was made to coincide with the gathering from the 9th to the 12th. .
Ahead of Saudi Film Confex, Variety spoke with Reda Al-Haydar, chairman of RMA Ventures, about what has happened since Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on religiously affiliated movie theaters in 2018 and started turning the wheels of the country’s film industry. “The quality of local movies is increasing,” he said. ) Projects today are much better,” he said, adding, “This will develop because a lot of talent is flowing into the pipeline after realizing that the ecosystem is open and possible. I will continue,” he added.
Al-Haydar, who is also a former chairman of the General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM), Saudi Arabia’s media industry regulatory body, responded to Variety’s questions about the details of the new Saudi Film Fund, which is the first of its kind.
One of the key aspects of this fund, if I remember correctly, is that it targets two types of investments: media-related infrastructure and production. Could you start by talking about the basics?
correct. We will make two types of investments. And when we say media infrastructure, we mean distribution, logistics services, all these types of equity investments, obviously in companies. Then there’s the production component. The production side is not particularly international. It’s international and local. We expect and will focus on a good flow of regional and region-related projects. However, we are also open to international projects that offer a commercial return on investment.
Can you tell us more about the infrastructure aspect of Saudi Arabia?
So infrastructure is a very general term, and when we talk about it, we’re talking about the media industry supply chain. Something that leads to appropriate production values. And this component is specifically more relevant to the Saudi ecosystem. Therefore, it may invest in Saudi companies that provide logistics services. It could be a company that does post-production. Depending on the attractiveness of the opportunity, we may invest in companies that manufacture equipment. However, it could also include forming joint ventures with international companies and establishing them in Saudi Arabia. As far as contributing to the development of the ecosystem, this is obviously something that we’re very passionate about.
And what are you looking to invest in on the production side?
The most important criterion for us is commercial feasibility. Will this be profitable or not?
We are considering four types of projects: films, series, documentaries, and animation. That is, anything that falls under that type of content. Obviously, we’re looking at local and regional opportunities for film as long as they meet our criteria. But we also recognize that the (current) pipeline may not be enough and the potential benefits of these projects may still be in their early stages. Therefore, we will also look at other international opportunities that have greater commercial appeal.
Just to be clear, are these production investments only for productions shot in Saudi Arabia, or is there scope to invest in productions shot elsewhere as well?
Our priority is for projects to be produced in Saudi Arabia, but if there are opportunities that we believe have strategic value or are highly commercially attractive, we will consider them. Therefore, we are not limited to projects shot in Saudi Arabia.
Is there an investment limit for each project?
yes. At the end of the day, we’re a $100 million fund. This is a significant amount, but not infinite. Therefore, you need to be very careful about how much money you put into your project. Usually it won’t be a big part of the project, so unless it’s a very minimal contribution, really big projects will probably be shied away from it. So there’s no specific cap per se, but we do consider the size of the fund, the size of the investment, and the risk profile of what you’re trying to do. If we decide this is a safe investment, we may increase the threshold, but it’s usually between 10-20% and never more.
What kind of return on investment are you aiming for?
Typically, what we’re looking at is a 20% goal. In that sense, it may be a standard return.
I believe it just launched in September, but could you tell me what the response was from Hollywood?
In other words, it’s quite large. I have received offers from production companies based in Hollywood, some of which I think are very interesting projects. So we are evaluating and considering these projects.
