Will Smith to Be Guest of Honor at Saudi Arabia Movie Biz Trade Show Saudi Film Confex

Will Smith is set to give a talk on the opening day of the sophomore edition of the Saudi Film Confex, taking place in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh between Oct. 9-12. The event, which will welcome the Oscar-winning actor as its guest of honor, will gather both local and international industry experts to discuss how to advance and strengthen the Saudi film industry.

Smith’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” recently became Saudi Arabia’s highest-grossing film of all-time, scoring a whopping 1.7 million admissions in the country following its July 25 release. The American actor has been a recurrent presence in the kingdom in the past year, travelling to Riyadh for the premiere of “Bad Boys” back in May and giving a talk at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah last December, when he also visited Neom, a burgeoning film production destination in the north west of the country that has attracted major productions such as Rupert Wyatt’s “Desert Warrior.”

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The Saudi Confex team announced Smith will “share his creative visions and reflections on his career during a discussion session, providing inspiration for a new future in the film industry.”

Promoted by the Saudi Film Commission, the event is aligned with the country’s Saudi Vision 2030, a government program aimed at increasing economic, social and cultural diversification in the kingdom and the catalyst for Saudi’s reopening of movie theaters in 2018 following a 40-year ban.

The inaugural edition in 2023 saw 60,000 attendees from 19 countries, and this year’s edition aims to increase that number to 65,000 attendees from at least 25 different countries. Among other aims of the Confex is a desire to give visibility to the country’s growing filming locations, bring together local professionals to share their expertise and foment talent development, and attract partnerships between leading local and international companies.

The Saudi Film Confex is set to take place at a particularly fortuitous time for the industry in Saudi, following the recent September launch of a $100 million film fund aimed at attracting investments from global film studios to help fuel the kingdom’s rapidly growing local film industry.

Over the course of four days, the conference will feature over 30 panel discussions and workshops exploring topics such as film financing, distribution, exhibition and industry regulation. On top of the conference, the Saudi Confex will also feature an exhibition with over 130 local, regional and international companies specializing in production, smart studio construction, and the latest technology in film production, with a focus on innovation in the industry.

The conference will host a series of Film Talks with Saudi talent, which include an in-depth discussion on the career of the creative duo Godus Brothers, whose latest film “Fever Dreams” premiered at the 2023 Red Sea Film Festival; Ahmed Almulla, known as “the godfather of Saudi cinema” will deliver a talk on the journey of Saudi film festivals; plus a conversation with “Fursan Quraih” director Abdullah Bamajboor and producer Osama Alkhurayji about the new wave of Saudi drama.

Workshops include “Contracts and Legal Regulations in the Film Industry” with Lamisse Bajunaid, legal director in Clyde & Co; “The Art of Seamless Product Placement in Film” with Hady Hajjar, co-founder of Dubai-based marketing agency HuManagement; “AI Tools” with co-founder of AI Crafters Morad El Mazyani; and “The Power of Presence and Marketing Through Movie Posters” with local graphic designer Afra Alsammahi.

A focus on new technologies and innovation permeates several of the Confex’s masterclasses. Philipp Chudalla, who worked in the camera and electrical department for films like “Geostorm” and the Saudi-filmed “Desert Warrior” will give a masterclass on the latest camera and lighting technology. Egyptian cinematographer Mostafa Fahmy (“Unruly Friends”) will deliver a masterclass on practical solutions for lighting without professional gear, and PROXi Virtual Production co-founder Guy Norris will go through the latest in virtual production.

The themes of panel discussions include how to consult regional agencies; the importance of film archives; the realities of the acting world in Saudi; the differences between government and private sector funding; artificial intelligence and new technologies; and the role of cinema in promoting tourism.