Arab News | Saudi media chief highlights film’s role as soft power tool

RIYADH: The vital role played by film in promoting a nation’s cultural identity and enhancing its global presence has been highlighted by the CEO of the General Authority for Media Regulation.

Speaking at the Saudi Film Confex, Abdulatif bin Mohammed Al-Abdulatif said: “We found, based on many international experiences, that the dramatic experience or the dramatic image conveyed to a country had great positive effects for this country, even on other similar sectors like tourism, trade, investment, attracting people to this country, and those countries positioning and visualizing the world as a whole.”

Alongside Al-Abdulatif on the opening panel, in a session focusing on media and films and how the two sectors create a single growth story, was Abdullah Al-Eyaf, CEO of the Film Commission.

On the role of media, Al-Abdulatif said: “The cultural message, if we want to summarize it under the title of our conference, which is filmmaking, we will find that drama production is the best way to convey the mental image of any society and any country,”

He outlined how cultural content produced within the Kingdom played a pivotal role in shaping global perceptions, fostering a deeper international understanding of Saudi Arabia and ultimately driving cross-sector cooperation.

“For media outlets and media sector in general is to convey the content and cultural image produced by the culture sector to the inside and the outside, establishing it on the inside and conveying it to the outside,” he said.

The cultural message, if we want to summarize it under the title of our conference, which is filmmaking, we will find that drama production is the best way to convey the mental image of any society and any country.

Abdulatif bin Mohammed, Al-Abdulatif

Al-Eyaf highlighted the similarities and overlap between film and media, saying: “I believe that the film and media sectors are identical twins since birth — since the dawn of cinema, it has been generating wonderful material for media promotion and consumption, but it also clearly and greatly benefits from what the major media tributary does.

““Whether it was newspapers in the beginnings, from the beginning of cinema, newspapers or magazines, or later television and programs. A good film is made in a cinema hall, but its greatest real impact comes from integration with the media sector.”

He added: “Last year, Saudi films achieved SAR122 million at the box office in a sector that has only been around for four to five years.”

Al-Eyaf said while Saudi films represented less than 3 percent of the 538 films screened in the Kingdom last year, they accounted for roughly 13 percent of total box office revenue. This marked a 114 percent increase on the SAR56.8 million achieved in 2024.

He credited the media sector with raising public awareness and visibility of Saudi cinema.

“These Saudi films were in theaters, watched by hundreds or millions of people, but who heard about them? Hundreds of millions. And how did that happen? Because of the media, which provides a great service to promote the good Saudi product and the Saudi film above all,” he explained.

The Film Confex, which concluded on Thursday at JAX Studios in Diriyah, took place under the patronage of Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, minister of culture and chairman of the Saudi Film Commision’s board of directors.

It hosted film talks and workshops covered an array of topics around the filmmaking process, production, casting, funding and technology. Sessions explored the role of artificial intelligence and modern technologies in developing the film industry, from production to distribution, and discussed opportunities for employing them in the Saudi market.

Additionally, panel discussions brought together leading executives and film industry actors to discuss the role of the non-profit sector in supporting talent, cinematic projects, and enhancing the overall growth of the film industry in the Kingdom.

The event also witnessed multiple agreements being signed, including with FilmLab and Cine Wave to distribute three upcoming films as a step towards bringing the Kingdom’s stories to a wider audience.

The fourth edition built on last year’s event, which saw total spending for commission-backed projects reach SAR1.3 billion ($347 million).