Saudi Arabia’s Film AlUla – the film commission for the swathe of northwest Saudi Arabia – is bolstering its role as a cornerstone of the kingdom’s ongoing effort to build a film industry ecosystem thanks to its recent partnership with global studios giant MBS Group and its ongoing rapport with the Red Sea Film Foundation. That was the main takeaway of a panel held as part of Variety’s Global Conversations at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
Phillip Jones, chief tourism officer of The Royal Commission for AlUla, underlined how “one of the real needs we have is training locals for jobs in the industry.” This is being done in tandem with both MBS Group – which comprises Manhattan Beach Studios, home to James Cameron’s “Avatar” sequels, and the state-of-the-art AlUla Studios – and the Red Sea labs and fund. Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of Red Sea Film Foundation, pointed out how “if you submit a film project to the Red Sea Fund, which is one of the largest in the Middle East, we give that project an option to be shoot in AlUla.”
Baltyuor cited two examples of Saudi films shot in AlUla that went on to surface on the international fest circuit: Tawfik Alzaidi’s “Norah,” which in 2024 became Saudi’s first film in the Cannes official selection, and Shahad Ameen’s “Hijra,” which went to Venice in 2025.
