Focused on the theme of celebrating locations on the screen, Diversity On Wednesday night, a cocktail reception was held on the rooftop of the Neuhaus in Hollywood, hosted by Neom, a sustainable metropolis and regional manufacturing hub located in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia.

The event brought together producers, production managers, location managers and others from the film, television and content creation industries, providing Wayne Borg, Neom’s managing director of media, entertainment and culture, with the opportunity to introduce others to what the region has to offer. suggest and encourage decision makers to consider moving their products to the Middle East.

“We really want to work with the industry, whether it’s for your manufacturing or if you have a service business that can help us grow the ecosystem,” Borg said in his opening remarks welcoming attendees. “We are very happy to be here. We’re so glad you came to hear our story, our vision and what’s going on out there and the reality of it.”

During an on-site presentation earlier this month, featuring 140 of the world’s film and TV industry leaders, Neom unveiled the opening of its fourth fully operational sound stage.

“We had people from the US, the UK, Germany, India, France, Turkey,” Borg said in an interview. Diversity thinking about the window. “Now it is a global industry. We had a lot of directors from various film companies, producers, financiers, investors, as well as service providers. It’s about how this ecosystem evolves, and now that they’ve seen what’s happening on earth, we’re demonstrating a proof of concept. There is real energy in being involved in this, and it’s fantastic.”

In addition to supporting production with its growing offering of soundstages, full-service support facilities, cash discount incentives, and resort-style accommodations, Neom boasts proximity to a variety of geographic locations, including easy access to the Red Sea, mountain ranges, and desert environments. .

“As Jeremy Bolt, one of the producers who worked there, said, it suits a lot of genres, from sci-fi and romance to action and literally big, epic movies,” Borg explained. “So, to that end, it’s flexible, and then when you add a stage component, nowhere else in the region has that combination of variety of venues combined with state-of-the-art facilities, with a lot of incentive. Certainly.”

Revealed in September 2022 in tandem with the opening of Neom Media Village and Bajdah Desert Studios, the incentive discount provides a cashback of more than 40% of the amount spent on production, which recruits local crew and talent above and below the line, and producers “can to get a higher percentage based on their contribution to the industry.”

When it comes to the genre or type of content being produced, Borg explains that Neom acts “agnostically”. The region has already hosted 30 completed productions in the past year and a half and hosts productions of all types and sizes.

“We are working closely with manufacturers and line manufacturers to make sure it works. It should work for them,” Borg said. “Now we have a lot of equipment on the ground. We have conditions, we have housing. Therefore, we treat each project on its merits and work with [productions] close to make sure we can supply what they need. And we are very interested in saying yes. Ultimately, the success of productions and our ability to support them comes down to working closely with them and ensuring their success. For us, it’s about delivering a seamless experience and always on budget, on time, every time.”

Borg added: “When you think about Neom’s proposal as a whole, it’s about rethinking urbanism and how people will live and work in the future, and those relationships with both the built and natural environments, and in the context of in which cities put a lot of stress on the planet. And Neom on how do you solve this problem, how to create a sustainable model, making your infrastructure more efficient, your transport more efficient and minimizing car use and all the headaches that come with it? And that’s where I think we’re in the unique position of having no heritage. We are not trying to reverse engineer or try to bypass existing infrastructure. We can create the optimal solution for the future now.”