The United Arab Emirates is attacking the cinema. But, once is not custom, not by brandishing censorship. After hosting several major productions such as Dune, Star Wars and Mission Impossible in its desert, the country has decided to build a complex of new film studios in Abu Dhabi. Twofour54 is expected to open its doors by 2025, the UAE government has announced. Eleven recording studios, a water tank for aquatic filming, six permanent sets as well as offices, post-production studios, housing and projection rooms will be spread over forty hectares.
“Creative industries have been identified as one of Abu Dhabi’s priority sectors given the significant economic and social value they generate,” Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri said in an Aug. 1 twofour54 statement. The managing director of ADNEC Group – the parent company – hopes that Abu Dhabi will become “a flagship destination for content creation”. While specifying that the studio will “create jobs and contribute to the local economy after its opening in 2025.”
To pilot the project, the cost of which has not been made public, the American Mark Whithehead was selected. For a year now, he has been managing the company twofour54. The former BBC media strategist said in the same statement that after 15 years of being involved in audiovisual productions, his company has “developed a deep expertise in the demands of the global film industry .” The new studio will complement the company’s campus at the Yas Creative Hub in Abu Dhabi and production facilities across the United Arab Emirates.
The film industry is increasingly turning to the Middle East. And for good reason: the United Arab Emirates has a rather flexible tax system for international film productions. Abu Dhabi offers up to 30% discounts on certain expense items. Its neighbor, Saudi Arabia, also encourages producers to come and set up their film sets in Al-Ula or NEOM. All with significant tax benefits.
A question remains. According to the NGO Human rights watch, the United Arab Emirates have put in place a strategy of “soft power” through cultural and media diplomacy which is deceptive. In 2021, the government of Abu Dhabi announced the end of censorship in cinema. Commitment quickly forgotten because big Hollywood productions have since been banned by the authorities.
Among the latest examples, the Ministry of Media Regulation announced in June that the new episode of the Spider-Man saga would not be screened. The problem ? A scene from Across the Spider-Verse in which a poster with a logo of the transgender movement is seen. A year earlier, the animated film Buzz Lightyear had also been banned. A scene containing a kiss between two women constituted, according to the Gulf country, a “violation of the standards related to the media content in force”.
It remains to be seen what rules will apply to the upcoming shoots the country wants to attract with its brand new studio complex. And whether they will somehow be subject to local censorship.
