ALKHOBAR: Saudi filmmakers who studied in the US are returning home to help shape a national film industry grounded in local identity but with global ambitions.
What began as a small wave of students seeking film education abroad has evolved into a generation of professionals turning cinematic curiosity into cultural capital.
Their experiences reveal how American storytelling is influencing the Kingdom’s growing film industry as it positions itself as a regional production hub.
For Saudi media producer and director Nasser Marghalani, the years he spent at the University of Hawaii in Manoa taught discipline, teamwork and perspective. Studying creative media from 2006 to 2009, he trained on the set of the television series Lost.
“Studying creative media there … gave me a deep understanding of storytelling through structure, light and rhythm, not just visuals,” he explained.
