Saudi Arabia, IMAX ink MoU to develop local films

Saudi Arabia's General Culture Authority (GCA) and Canada's IMAX Corporation have signed a non-binding agreement to jointly seek opportunities to identify and develop local IMAX-format films in the Kingdom, the Centre for International Communication said in a statement on Saturday.

Under a non-exclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU), GCA and IMAX will jointly seek opportunities to help Saudi studios and directors release films with cross-border appeal and eventually tap IMAX's global distribution platform to export their films to non-Arabic markets.

IMAX has successfully implemented this approach in markets such as China and India, where it re-masters and distributes local-language blockbusters both in-country and to its wider global network.

On April 30, IMAX opened its first commercial multiplex theatre together with VOX Cinemas in Riyadh, with its debut timed to the release of Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War.

The company expects to build approximately 15 to 20 IMAX theatres in Saudi Arabia during the coming years. It has built a substantial footprint in the Middle East with 20 theatres in operation in many of the region's top-performing screens and another 12 in backlog.

IMAX will also explore the establishment of a film-technology lab to train and work with Saudi filmmakers on IMAX-format documentaries and Arabic-language films that showcase the Kingdom's geography, culture and heritage, as well as the filmmakers themselves, the statement added.