Qatar’s Emerging Films Commission and Oscar-winning US indie giant Neon have signed a four-year co-development, co-production and co-financing agreement.
This is one of several milestone agreements announced at Industry Days at the inaugural Doha Film Festival by Hassan Al Thawadi, chairman of the Qatar Film Commission and Qatari lawyer who will oversee the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.
The Qatar Film Board, which is part of the MediaCity Qatar Hub and is a public body tasked with promoting the growth of the country’s entertainment industry, also announced the launch of a regional rebate, the details of which will be specified soon, as well as a collaboration with the Cannes Film Festival and the Cairo Film Festival, whose details are still unknown.
“We are building the foundation for a world-class (film and television) ecosystem with new infrastructure, production facilities, post-production capabilities and data analytics supported by vast technology and data analytics,” Al Thawadi (pictured) said at an Industry Days event that included a fireside chat with Neon CEO and founder Tom Quinn, adding: “Our mission is to create an environment where filmmakers can dream openly.”
Under the agreement between Neon and the commission, the partners will co-develop and produce six to 10 feature films and short films over a four-year period.
“The collaboration with Neon marks an important milestone in the Film Commission’s mission to support Arab cinema,” director Al Thawadi said in a statement.
“This agreement is not only about funding films, but also about building a new platform for Arabic and the Arabic language.
telling regional stories and ensuring that the stories of Qatar and the wider Arab world are seen and celebrated;
“Through this partnership, we are deepening creative cooperation between the Arab world and world cinema and contributing to positioning the region as a key player in the creative economy of the Global South,” he added.
Quinn commented: “Neon has always been committed to supporting international cinema, and our partnership with Media City Qatar Film Commission gives us the opportunity to enhance an even richer diversity of filmmaking for audiences around the world.”
Al Tawadi also announced a partnership between Doha-based Katara Studio and US indie studio Department M, founded by Mike Larocca and Michael Schaefer. The partnership will see the two companies team up on a biopic about the Syrian military officer known as Caesar, who risked his life by smuggling tens of thousands of photos depicting torture under Bashar al-Assad to expose the regime’s torture and human rights abuses.
The rebate, known as the Qatar Film Production Incentive, provides cash incentives of up to 50% on eligible Qatari production expenditures, combining a base rebate of 40% with additional increases of up to 10% for productions that meet defined criteria such as hiring Qatari talent, investing in local training, promoting Qatari culture and other aspects of industrial development.
Industry Days attracted a string of major entertainment figures, including A24 co-founder and CEO Daniel Katz, producer Rodrigo Teixeira (I’m Still Here), and AGC Studios CEO Stuart Ford.
