In Competition with Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi Begins Construction of One of the Largest Film Studios in the World

Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has launched the construction of one of the largest film studios in the world. According to 'Hollywood Reporter', the establishment of this advanced center could be a response to recent actions by Saudi Arabia to attract global film companies to the country. The new studio in Abu Dhabi will be a multifunctional center with advanced audio and visual equipment managed by the state-owned company 'Twofour54'. This center covers approximately 400,000 square meters and includes eleven studios, a 3,000-square-meter water tank, six large decorative stages, and 7,000 square meters of office space, administrative centers, and production facilities. Abu Dhabi has long been an attractive location in the Middle East for Bollywood and Hollywood film companies, with outdoor scenes from works like Star Wars, Dune, Fast and Furious, and Mission Impossible filmed in the city. However, Abu Dhabi hopes that by building the new studio, it can offer more facilities to foreign companies and even film interior scenes and entire projects in the city. The announcement of this center comes at a time when Saudi Arabia has recently launched detailed plans to market and attract major film companies to the country. Saudi Arabia is trying to welcome film companies by investing in various parts of the country, especially the historical region of 'Al-Ula'. The filming of 'Kandahar', an incident film starring Gerard Butler, which had a successful release, took place in Saudi Arabia. Navid Negahban, an Iranian-American artist who acted in Kandahar, told the Persian section of Voice of America about his experience traveling to Saudi Arabia: 'Filming in Jeddah and Al-Ula was an incredible experience, and the local people were very warm and welcoming.' Another Iranian actress from the film, Elnaz Norouzi, also told the Persian section of Voice of America that 'Al-Ula is very beautiful, and the experience of traveling and filming in this area was amazing for me and all the crew members.' One of the other large film centers in Saudi Arabia is located in the 'Neom' region, which is part of Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious goals to build a modern city for the future in that location. Yvonne Bourg, who is currently the head of media, entertainment, culture, and fashion at Neom, was previously the chief commercial officer at 'Twofour54' in Abu Dhabi. Mark Whitehead, the CEO of Twofour54, expressed hope that the construction of the new center in 2025 would be the next step in providing services in this region for global productions. This article is based on a report by 'Hollywood Reporter'.