Six windows in heaven

Saudi Arabia is Taking its Film Industry to the Next Level

Everything you need to know about The Filmmakers Program

Six windows in heaven

2020 has been quite the year for Saudi Arabia’s film industry. The Kingdom saw the sixth edition of Saudi Film Festival taking place virtually, Red Sea Film Festival hosting a slew of online screenings, and Shahad Ameen’s Scales shaping up to make its way to the upcoming Academy Awards

This comes as no surprise considering the nation’s growing efforts to nurture the local filmmaking industry as part of Vision 2030. And it’s far from over. The Saudi Film Commission just launched a new program aiming to provide training opportunities and workshops for Saudi filmmakers.

The Filmmakers Program, kicking off in February 2021, will include seven key stages: producers’ program, foundations of the film industry, marketing and distribution, audio engineering and production, scriptwriting, editing, and the film business market.

If you’re a beginner or simply a film enthusiast, you might find yourself pursuing the program’s amateurs track which will offer a broad understanding and training of basic filmmaking skills. If you’re a professional, you’ll have access to specialized courses in scriptwriting, animation, production, and more.

To develop this in-depth virtual curriculum, the commission has collaborated with the British Film Institute, the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California (USC), and the Creative Media Skills Institute (CMS) at Pinewood in the UK.

You can apply here starting January 1.

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