Saudi distribution and production chief joins country’s film industry – The Hollywood Reporter

Paul Chesney

Twenty-one for entertainment

Just weeks before the Red Sea Film Festival kicks off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the launch of a new regional distributor and sales operation has been revealed.

Riyadh-based TwentyOne Entertainment, led by former British Universal and Disney executive Paul Chesney, will come to the festival with its first acquisition, Noura in Competition at the Red Sea, the debut feature from Saudi writer and director Tawfiq Al-Zaidi. The film, set in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, represents the first film to be filmed entirely in the AlUla region of the country.

Following the announcement, Chesney revealed his new Saudi production operation, Red Palm Pictures, which will operate under the same TwentyOne umbrella. To double down on its commitment to Zaidi, Red Palm has launched a multi-picture deal with the director and a new project in chandelieran action-adventure drama that he is set to write and direct.

The new entities join a film industry in Saudi Arabia that has practically emerged from nothing in just a few years, and which has been fueled by the fastest-growing box office on the planet. Additionally, local titles were finally able to break into the mainstream.

Talking to Hollywood ReporterChesney discussed TwentyOne Entertainment and Red Palm Pictures, how he hopes to be a magnet for regional talent, and competing — or not — with some of the operators already in place.

What was the thought process behind launching TwentyOne?

When it comes to distribution in the region, there are a few people who do it really well. From what I understand and the learning curve I’m going through, a lot of the content in Saudi Arabia was YouTube quality and TV quality. But there is a lot of talent here. I learn from Tawfiq Al-Zaidi every time I meet him. but Nura It is such a good movie. And that’s what we wanted to represent at TwentyOne Entertainment. So it made sense to launch the distribution side Nura As our first title and we’re really producing something that’s going to say something on screen here that’s really unique and different and hasn’t been seen before. Also, over the past five years, there has really been a diet of tentpoles, but content from Turkey, Egypt and India, but nothing cinematic at the Saudi level. So, through the distribution business, we want to change that narrative a little bit as the audience becomes smarter. We want to be part of it.

Over the past year, we have seen Saudi successes here, in particular Star. Therefore, we are seeing a growing appetite among Saudi audiences for local films that target them rather than big, imported Hollywood blockbusters. Is this something you hope to benefit from?

Yes, of course. Star He was unique and did an amazingly good job. We set ourselves a little apart from this type of content. We want to make content for the audience, but we also want to make content that showcases the history of this country. There are so many stories that haven’t been told. On the production side, that’s definitely where we’re going to go, and on the distribution side, we want to represent these types of films.

You are a distributor in the MENA region, but are you primarily focused on Saudi Arabia?

It is because of the growing film industry. There are 600 screens here now but that number will reach 2,500 within years. So it’s a huge growth area. But we don’t ignore the rest of the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), which is why we call us TwentyOne Entertainment, because there are 21 regions. There is rich talent in the entire region. So it’s not about chasing dollars here. It’s about participating in an exciting place that has tremendous growth and being part of that change.

Are theatrical releases the main goal of your titles?

not necessarily. Distribution can be theatrical or to streaming platforms. In terms of production, we will be making content for streaming, we will be making theatrical films and we want to make documentaries as well. We won’t have a narrow focus. We want to be a magnet for talent in the region. We want screenwriters, up-and-coming directors, people with stories…we want them to come to us. We want to represent them and give them a voice. This will be one of the main goals of the production entity.

There are several well-established distribution and production companies in the MENA region, such as Mad Solutions and Front Row. Do you feel that you are in the same place or is there something that distinguishes you?

I think the main difference between us is that, production-wise, we won’t just focus on the film. But these are the companies we are likely to look to partner with. They’ve both done a great job, and I’m not going to sit here and say we’re going to compete with them in the short term. It doesn’t make sense to do this. We see ourselves collaborating with the best in the industry and doing things ourselves.

Have you had significant involvement in the region previously?

I was working with Universal Pictures with the home entertainment group, and I had a global role in London and then in Los Angeles. In part of that role, I was looking after our licensing markets, in about 50 regions for some time, and the Middle East was one of those regions. But it has changed a lot since I used to travel here back then. But that wasn’t what attracted me to this part of the world, it was all the changes that were happening.