By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

Saudi Arabia’s First Full-Service Production Studio Launches as Its First Int’l Co-Prod Wraps

[pr] FIRST FULL-SERVICE PRODUCTION STUDIO “NEBRAS FILMS” LAUNCHED IN SAUDI ARABIA

Production Wraps on the Facility’s First International Co-Production “Born a King”

 LOS ANGELES / SAUDI ARABIA:  In advance of the Cannes Film Festival, Mr. Abdullah Al Nafisah today announced the launch of Saudi Arabia’s first full-service production studio Nebras Films. Setting out to develop and produce a diverse portfolio of feature films, TV series, documentaries and advertising content, the new 42,000 square-foot production facility offers complete post-production services as well as art workshops, 3D animation, audio, casting, crew, equipment, props and sets. State-of-the-art equipment covers all film production needs and includes Arri cameras and Master Prime as well as Anamorphic lenses, lighting and grips, vehicles, aerial drones, 3D scanners and surveying, camera stabilizers and cranes, as well as special effects.

The announcement follows a string of enriching cultural firsts for the Kingdom in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 transformation plan. Nebras Films’Principals include: Chairman Abdullah Al Nafisah, General Manager Niko Ruokosuo, Head of Production Matty Beckerman, Deputy General Manager Abdulrahman Al Nafisah, Assistant Producer Fouad Al Khateeb and Project Manager Saad Abutaily. The long-awaited production facilities provide the infrastructure, resources, depth and experience which will generate numerous jobs in the region.  Ruokosuo has 20 years of experience at the largest and most diversified media companies in Scandinavia, Central Europe, North America and the Middle-East and along with producer, writer and director Beckerman will be taking meetings in Cannes at the Saudi Pavilion with further film and partnership announcements forthcoming.

“Amidst unprecedented levels of development and reform in Saudi Arabia, Nebras Films’ passion, world-class equipment and capabilities are unparalleled in the Middle East,” said Nebras Films’ General Manager Niko Ruokosuo. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of interest in the Kingdom, with the studio rapidly becoming the epicenter for production, and we look forward to welcoming filmmakers looking to maximize the region’s mass-market opportunity.”

Production recently wrapped on the facility’s first international co-production, “Born a King,” produced by Andres Gomez, directed by Agustí Villaronga and starring Ed Skrein.

Headquartered in Riyadh and founded by Abdullah Al Nafisah, Nebras Films is home to an exceptional handpicked team of experts from around the world, each dedicated to transforming creative visions from an idea to reality.  Nebras Films is Saudi Arabia’s only dedicated full-service movie production studio, backed by its parent company Alnafees Holding Company, which specializes in pioneering growth companies through various activities and investments aligned with the Vision 2030 transformation plan. Alnafees Holding Company is also parent to Diyar Najd, specializing in construction, project management, subcontracting and architectural design; Nafees World, specializing in interior design, finishing, and furniture manufacturing; and Madaen, specializing in Real Estate development, co-development, and project consulting.

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

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~ David Simon