- META Cinema Forum will run for five-days next year to include a three-day film festival bringing the best of Hollywood and Bollywood in Dubai;
- More than 85 international films have so far been shot at various locations in Dubai – the most popular venue in the Middle East for cinema;
- With the number of cinema screens in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow to 1,450 screens by 2024 from 300 in 2020, the Middle East region will drive the growth of the global cinema industry;
- Globally, the combined revenues in the box office industry plummeted by 64.7 percent to roughly $15 billion last year, from $42.5 billion in 2019;
META Cinema Forum, the largest cinema convention in the Middle East and Africa, is set to become the world’s largest cinema industry convention in the world, when it brings blockbuster films and stars from Hollywood, Bollywood, Arab World and Turkey under one platform at the 5th META Cinema Forum in October 2022.
The 5th META Cinema Forum will launch the META Film Festival and META Cinema Awards – with red carpet reception, gala awards ceremony and premiers of Hollywood, Bollywood and regional blockbusters – that will see the world’s top industry performers gather in Dubai to brainstorm on the future of the cinema industry.
Leila Masinaei, Managing Partner, Great Mind Events Management, said, “As the cinema industry in the Middle East recovers fast from the COVID-19 pandemic and as META Cinema Forum matures, we are taking the event to the next level by launching META Film Festival and META Cinema Awards – and that is to make it the largest cinema convention in the world.
“META Cinema Forum will reinforce Dubai’s position as a global entertainment hub – that has become a popular venue for international films produced in Hollywood, Bollywood and the Arab world. It will ensure that the world’s top film stars gather in Dubai that will reposition Dubai in the global entertainment world.
“As the industry recovers fully, we will come up with new surprises with regards to the cinema industry. Our next edition will be a power-packed and star-studded five-day entertainment week – META Cinema Week in Dubai.”
Dubai has been a venue for many international films including Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters. Dubai’s status as a filmmaker’s playground has been re-inforced with some of the Hollywood’s and Bollywood’s biggest names shooting blockbusters on the city’s highways in recent years.
The city’s iconic landmarks such as Burj Khalifa, the Palm Jumeirah, high-rise towers, pristine beaches, large swathes of sand dunes, classy hotels, shopping malls, world-class infrastructure, new urban landscape and new real estate clusters make the city a great location for feature films.
More than 85 international films have so far been shot at various locations in Dubai – the most popular venue in the Middle East for cinema. These includes Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Vanguard, City of Life, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Trek – Beyond, Syriana and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, among others as well as Bollywood hits including Dabangg, Dilwala, Hamari Adhuri Kahani, Welcome, Welcome Back, Happy New Year, Partner, Race, Sarkar 3, etc.
Dubai is also second home to many international celebrities and film stars who visit the city frequently. Many of them own assets in the UAE and spend time in the country. International film shootings and celebrity endorsements usually boost international tourism flow into the city and helps the local economy.
“Over the last four years, we have brought the major stakeholders of the global cinema industry together under one roof at the META Cinema Forum – the region’s first and the largest cinema convention in the Middle East and Africa,” Leila Masinaei who has played a great role in bringing the industry together to Dubai, says.
“With Dubai being such a wonderful city – a paradise for filmmakers – it is time to take the film industry to the next level. META Film Festival and META Cinema Awards will make Dubai the ideal regional hub of the cinema industry.”
More than 1,000 industry delegates, experts, celebrities and participants will discuss and debate the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry stakeholders, at the META Cinema Forum.
The Middle East and Africa region has one of the fastest growing entertainment industries in the world and governments are investing heavily to diversify economies and reduce dependency on a single economic sector.
The event brings all the stakeholders on a single platform to brainstorm the recovery of the industry and identify opportunities going forward. It will host seminars, awards, premieres of new movies, workshops and masterclasses, as well as showcasing new products and exclusive slate content presentations.
