Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s O3 Productions, a subsidiary of the Arab world’s top free-to-air broadcaster MBC Group, and Image Nation Abu Dhabi have announced a partnership to co-finance and co-produce four Saudi films.
This announcement came on the sidelines of Saudi Arabia’s historic visit to the Cannes Film Festival, currently being held in France from 8 to 19 May 2018.
The two firms also unveiled an incentives package to attract foreign productions, as well as grants and education programmes for Saudi filmmakers. As part of the deal, the O3 Productions and Image Nation will co-produce a comedy film titled ‘Love Above the Law’, written by Saudi YouTube star, comedian, and actor Fahad Albutairi.
The movie, which will feature a love story between a Saudi couple, a middle-class man and a woman from the countryside, will be directed by Emirati filmmaker Majid Al-Ansari, the director of one of Netflix’s major Arab-language thriller films ‘Zinzana’.
The two firms also planned to co-produce and co-finance their first project, the Arabic-language film adaptation of author Ibraheem Abbas’ best-selling novel sci-fi HWJN.
A television spin-off titled The Delusionists, in addition to two television series will be also featured under the partnership.
The four projects will be filmed in Saudi Arabia as production is set to start in 2019, casting local Saudi talent.
