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Making Movies in Middle East
With the Dubai and Middle East International Film Festivals and a flood of financing, the Middle East is quickly becoming Hollywood Way East
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David Chambers, a management consultant who specializes in Middle East Broadcasting and is a former member of the White House Arts & Entertainment Task Force, spent 10 years living in Dubai and says headline-grabbing deals—as well as glitzy events like the DIFF—are an outgrowth of the UAE’s aggressive effort to quickly increase its global profile. Nothing accomplishes that quite like money and movie stars, he says. “Events like the Dubai International Film Festival are drawing attention to the region, and behind that prominence is the fact that there’s a lot of money out there,” he says. “Much of this has to do with power and prestige.”
He adds that while the DIFF is driven primarily by an earnest desire to create a viable film culture (and, of course, good publicity), the Sony and Warner deals represent something far more prosaic. “The Warner deal to me is about a ‘big sale,’” he says. “Film is a much smaller component to this larger strategy [to diversify]. The UAE wants to lead in all fields: Business, tourism, medicine, education.”
They’re certainly not wasting any time. Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are racing to establish an infrastructure, including, in typically ambitious fashion, Dubai Studio City, an all-purpose, 22-million square foot production facility currently under construction.
Will Arab Indies Survive?
All this recent investment activity hints at the possibility that the money will eventually find its way to a Pan-Arab film sector desperately in need of financing. But will it?
“I’m interested in the Warner Bros. deal because they say they want to make ‘local film,’ but I want to see who those local players are,” offers Chambers.
When asked why his company decided to invest in Insomnia, Borak founder and chairman, Dr. Ayman Kandeel, says the deal is more about building up the bottom line than it is strengthening local infrastructure. “Ultimately, any investor is looking for a return on their investment,” he says. “While some of the large deals that have recently been announced in this region have had additional motives, such as building new industry in Dubai, for us, it was about working with a partner that has always made us money, in an area in which we could expand our portfolio.”
Expanding portfolios and returns on investments may be music to a businessman’s ears, but to restless moviemakers in the Arab world, making money takes a back seat to finding money. As the Dubai fest winner Under the Bombs demonstrates, the Middle East is rife with edgy, ambitious moviemakers with stories to tell, but investors at the independent level are scarce.
Consequently, Arab producers have little desire to wait and see if alliances with Hollywood will have a trickle down effect on regional moviemaking.
At a financing forum in Dubai in December, John Sloss of Cinetic Media was blunt when asked why Middle East oil money doesn’t make it to local moviemakers. “There’s no return on investment,” he said, as other panelists nodded in agreement. “It’s not about the existence of capital, it’s about consumption. Films have to make sense financially. Yes, there is money here, but the projects have to be financially viable.”
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Dubai Venture on 8/06/08 at 2:55 am
I am intrigued to hear that Dubai is a great location for movies. I suppose with all the development that is going on why not. Especially since the city has received a lot of exposure in recent years it can only mean good things, right?
Ali
- Comment by Egypt Property on 8/27/08 at 8:37 pm
I think Dubai is the actual new Hollywood. This might sound strange, but let’s look at what is going on there right now.
All the money is in Dubai and I wouldn’t be surprised if they started building huge casinos to further the never ending influx of people.
Ravi
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This story was published in the Spring 2008 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Money and Movie Stars in The Middle East
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