NEOM To House Saudi Arabia’s Largest Studio With An Industry Leading Production Incentive Scheme

NEOM, the highly anticipated futuristic region in northwest Saudi Arabia by the Red Sea that is currently being developed, has announced the opening of NEOM Media Village and Bajdah Desert Studios. Together the structures will be the Kingdom’s largest sound stages with extensive production facilities.

With the opening, NEOM also formally stated that it would be offering an industry-leading 40%+ production incentive scheme for feature films, non-scripted and scripted TV, and commercials. There is also an opportunity for producers to garner a higher percentage of rebate based on their contribution to developing the industry in the region.

Three sound stages are currently operational at the facilities with seven more planned to open by Q1 of 2023. There are also 350 serviced units for accommodation on-site. Over the last 18 months, the sound stages have partnered with 25 different productions.

NEOM Media Village houses a sound stage at 2,400 sq m and has three more stages under construction. Bajdah Desert Studios has the largest stages with two at 3,000 sq m each with four becoming active at the end of 2022. One of the stages will be a highly developed volumetric production stage.

In a statement, Wayne Borg, Managing Director for Media Industries, Entertainment and Culture at NEOM said, “Clearly production incentives play a vital role in terms of attracting productions but are best leveraged when the entire package is in place: infrastructure, on-the-ground international production expertise, crew depth and ease of doing business,”

“NEOM is now in the position to offer this competitive package.”

The region has an in-house international production team to support productions at all stages of operation and capacity. Outside of the accommodation capabilities, the studios have SFX facilities, construction warehouses, set production offices, prop facilities, wardrobe, and a large backlot space that can be utilized to enable set builds. Equipment is also available on-site with areas for cameras, complex drones, grip and lighting, boom lifts, and more all available at both sites.

Notable production

In 2021 the facilities most notable production hosted was Desert Warrior, directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and starring Anthony Mackie, Sir Ben Kingsley and Aiysha Hart.

“This is an important milestone in realizing our aim of becoming the epicenter of the regional media industry,” added Borg. “Our team, facilities and diverse filming locations mean we can provide a seamless, world-class production experience and use our capacity and capabilities to become the focal point of collaboration among talent, creators and key contributors within the global media industry.”