{"id":4168,"date":"2018-12-09T11:36:09","date_gmt":"2018-12-09T07:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mbrsc.aud.edu\/MBRSCPost\/?p=4168"},"modified":"2019-05-13T13:32:56","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T09:32:56","slug":"all-eyes-on-saudi-arabia-in-mena-cinema-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbrsc.aud.edu\/MBRSCPost\/all-eyes-on-saudi-arabia-in-mena-cinema-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"All Eyes on Saudi Arabia in MENA Cinema Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saudi Arabia took center stage at the Second edition of the MENA Cinema Forum which opened its doors at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai on October 28th<\/sup>. The cinema business is returning to the Kingdom after theaters were banned for decades.<\/p>\n

Among the 500 film industry attendees were mall owners, cinema operators and technology providers. Most of them were particularly excited to venture into the new Saudi market.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mark Luden, CEO of the Guitammer Company, is a business that provides active seating to cinemas said that \u201c\u201cSaudi Arabia is like China. They\u2019re a new demographic that is more likely to adopt new technologies than Europe or America. People who supply cinema are excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The biggest delegations that were present at the MENA cinema forum were from AMC and VOX Cinema, the two companies that have helped bring cinemas to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

VOX Cinemas, which is owned by Emirati conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim, announced that it would be investing $100 million in Saudi Arabia in 2019 alone, with the aim of building 600 screens in the kingdom by 2022, CEO Cameron Mitchell said during a presentation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mitchell said the cinema chain will inaugurate its second multiplex in the Kingdom in early 2019, noting that it would include mega-screen MAX, KIDS, and luxury cinema theatre.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cinemas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were banned in the early 1980s with the rise of ultra-conservative sentiments.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In recent months, the Kingdom has participated in a sequence of economic and social changes such as lifting the ban on women\u2019s driving, allowing women to establish businesses without a male guardian and most recently, lifting the ban on cinemas in the Kingdom. The first multiplex cinema of Riyadh opened its doors last April.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prior to the lifting of the ban, a large number of movie enthusiasts traveled to neighboring countries to experience movies on the big screen. The trend became increasingly prominent and was later named \u2018cinema tourism\u2019.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere were so many Saudi Arabian people that were really passionate about film and couldn\u2019t even go to the movies, and not all of them could travel,\u201d said Raheed Allaf, a Saudi film enthusiast living in Dubai. \u201cThis opens up an opportunity for so many aspiring filmmakers and dreamers who can finally go to the movies now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Attendees<\/a> \"Iconic<\/a> \"People<\/a> \"Showcase<\/a> \"The<\/a> \"The<\/a> \"The<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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