Mena Cinema Forum kicked off at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai, UAE today (October 28) bringing over 45 top-notch international speakers, 500 plus delegates from 45 countries to discuss the future of Mena cinema industry.

Mena Cinema Forum kicked off at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai, UAE today (October 28) bringing over 45 top-notch international speakers, 500 plus delegates from 45 countries to discuss how the Mena cinema industry can be part of global mainstream cinema economy.

The two-day conference will discuss a variety of industry related strategic topics focusing growth the cinema industry in the Middle East region, while number of cinema screens in the Mena set to jump 38.4  per cent to 1,800 in the next 3-5 years, up from 1,300 currently

The keynote panel discussed the economic impact of the growing cinema market in the Mena region, the effect of the Saudi cinema market across the region, industry rules, regulations, policies and upcoming developments in the cinema sector, new markets, mergers and newcomers, requirements for creating seamless supply chains for the cinema industry in the region, how can all stakeholders sync efforts to build a successful industry, and real estate availability and requirements for physical infrastructure

Jan Runge, independent advisor on Cinema Strategy and Implementation and moderator, in his a keynote address said: “There is a fine creative talent in the region, cinema today is truly international and now what we are looking here in Mena region to be part of $40 billion dollar global industry. Dubai as a hub of GCC entertainment has world renowned cinemas in Dubai. The GCC region has 40 million which is huge opportunity.”

Abdulaziz Almuzaini, general manager and co-founder of Myrkott Animation Studio in Saudi Arabia, said: “Our studies indicated significant potential market, boom in online audience and it is a big opportunity for KSA to capitalize on.”

Arturo Guillen, VP, EMEA & India, ComScore, Inc. said: “We have to develop a lot of local content and how to drive attendance and generate interest. Indian movies will play a major role in three million Indians in KSA. Understanding of big data and catering to its requirements serves a goldmine that will optimize the growth of industry.”

Mohamed Al Hashemi, country manager KSA, Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, said: “We need to learn from local versus international cinema markers – Hollywood, Bollywood, Arab. KSA is a promising neighbouring market with new offerings that Majid Al Futtaim Ventures is looking into it and plan for next 5 to 10 years."

Amer Bin Ahmed, CEO, Knauf, the main sponsor of the event said: “They key deliverance is of the right and on time coupled with sustainable supply chain. Each content has its own customers. We are under final stage of signing a big agreement with global cinema giant that we will reveal in due course. – TradeArabia News Service