JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s film industry is rapidly evolving, and Gaetan Bruel, president of the French National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image, or CNC, sees potential for collaboration with France.
Speaking to Arab News after the Red Sea International Film Festival, which he attended, Bruel said: “Saudi Arabia has, in just a few years, put in place everything it needs to become a major film country. The first films are already appearing in major international festivals, including ‘Norah,’ selected in Cannes in 2024. Cinemas are opening at an extraordinary pace, new producers and talents are being trained, and local films are already making waves internationally.”
Bruel emphasized that France and Saudi Arabia’s respective entertainment industries are drawing closer, recalling the executive program for cultural cooperation agreement signed a year ago between both ministries of culture. Under that agreement, the Saudi Film Commission and the CNC pledged to cooperate.
“Our two countries are already building a strong partnership. France can be a real partner in Saudi Arabia’s journey to becoming a major film nation,” Bruel said.
Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, on the left, with Gaetan Bruel, President of National Center of Cinematography and the moving image (CNC), on the right, at the 5th edition of Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah. (AFP)
