A List of Movies Shot in Saudi Arabia, Including Hollywood Films Shots
Saudi Arabia is an incredible location for shooting films. From the amazing landscapes and stunning desert through to the incredibly modern cities where films can be set, and shot.
The film industry in the Kingdom is also growing at an incredible rate with some incredible and influential teams of professionals working there.
In this guide, we’re running through a list of some international films shot in Saudi Arabia, showing the sizable influence of the country.
Malcolm X
Denzel Washington starred in this incredible movie, which charted the journey of Malcolm X, who as you may know was an American icon. Of course, as most of his story took part in America, the film is shot largely in the US. However, parts of it were filmed in Mecca as the main character takes part in the Hajj.
The film went down in history as one of the best biography pictures. Having been the first movie that was not a documentary that was filmed in Mecca, this made history.
Cherry [Film Shots]:
Cherry is a 2021 film that was made by Apple and shown on their streaming service. The film was shot in some of the larger deserts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and some of it was shot within the stunning historic location Hegra, a city which has shown it can be a fascinating place to shoot films.
The film stars Tom Holland (of Spider-Man fame) who is a PTSD-impacted army veteran who has started robbing banks to pay for his addiction to opioids.
As well as filming in the stunning AlUla, some shots were also filmed in Riyadh.
Barakah Meets Barakah
This is a great example of the global influence that the movie industry in Saudi Arabia is having. Barakah Meets Barakah is a comedy-drama film set and shot in Saudi Arabia and shot primarily in Jeddah.
The film is not only extremely well-reviewed, it also made waves all over the globe. The story focuses on the love of a middle-class man and a very wealthy woman, and has some hilarious moments as well as some very emotional moments. In 2017 the movie was even honored by nomination at the Academy Awards.
Kandahar (Upcoming)
This is a film that hasn’t actually been released yet, but is another that is cementing AlUla and other parts of Saudi Arabia as a huge player in the global film industry.
The production started in 2021 and the film will receive its international release soon, and it includes some huge Hollywood stars including Gerard Butler.
Locations used in the shooting of the movie include AlUla, Tabuk, Hail, Jeddah, and Taif. It promises to be an impressive visual spectacle.
Journey to Mecca (2009)
This film was made by Hollywood royalty Ben Kingsley and features the likes of Chems-Eddine Zinoune, Hassam Ghancy, Nabil Elouahabi, and Nadim Sawalha.
The movie itself is about a young religious law student who travels all the way from Tangier, a city in northern Morocco, around 3,000 miles to eventually journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
If you are looking for a movie that is one of the best ways to see what the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is actually like then Journey to Mecca and its stunning videography can be a way to do exactly that.
As well as many other awards, this won Le Prix Du Public Most Popular Film at the 2009 Le Géode Film Festival in Paris.
Wadjda
Wadjda was shot entirely in Saudi Arabia by director Haifaa Al Mansour. The thought-provoking film was actually a Saudi entry to the Academy Awards but did not end up getting nominated. In spite of that it won a very prestigious BAFTA for Best Foreign Film and many other awards around the world, receiving a huge amount of critical acclaim.
Summary
In Saudi Arabia, there are a number of amazing production houses as well as some of the most stunning locations imaginable, both modern and historic.
At Insight Studios, we can facilitate all aspects of film production processes including helping you to find the ideal locations and deal with the administrative processes.
Ready to explore how to make a film in this growing giant in the world of cinema? Get in touch with Insight Studios and start the process of bringing your dreams to life.