Saudi Filmmaker Aymen Khoja On How To Build A Film Industry From Scratch
Streamlined is a bit late this week as I’m in Mumbai and spent most of last week bouncing off the back seat of taxis and rickshaws. I’m learning a lot here, but Mumbai traffic didn’t get any better during the pandemic (in fact seems to be much worse due to Metro and coastal road construction). I’m now very behind on deadlines, so alas, Streamlined will be taking a break for a few weeks while I catch up. For this week’s edition, I’m sharing an interview with Saudi filmmaker Aymen Khoja, who I first met in Cannes and caught up with again on Zoom a few weeks ago. I’ll share thoughts on India in Streamlined after the break. Everything has changed here, not necessarily for the better, and I need time to digest.
Q&A With Saudi Filmmaker Aymen Khoja
Saudi Arabia has gone from having zero cinemas to becoming the biggest box office territory in the Middle East in just five years. When the country lifted its 35-year ban on cinemas in 2017, exhibitors including AMC, Vox and Muvi piled into the market, which now has around 60 cinemas with more than 500 screens. Box office in 2021 reached $238m, an increase of 95% compared to 2020, and the market is expected to grow to $1bn within a few years.
