Telfaz11 is flying high. The Riyadh-based production company is behind the hit comedy drama Sattar, set in the world of freestyle wrestling, which became the highest-grossing Saudi film of all time following its release in December 2022.
Now, in addition to its eight-film deal with Netflix, Telfaz11 — whose feature Mandoob had its MENA premiere at this year’s Red Sea International Film Festival — is working with Neom to produce nine film and TV productions and establish a significant base at the leading northwest Saudi media hub.
“We are looking to produce between two to three films a year at Neom,” says Dania Ismail, Telfaz11’s director of strategy and business development. “We are also looking to have a presence there. Between filming, we want to be on the ground, scout for new locations and manage our schedules with all the other productions happening in Neom.
“Telfaz11 is known for strong Saudi, Arabic-language content for theatres and partners like Netflix, so the environment of Neom — the desert backdrop, the mountains — plays into our storylines,” she continues. “The first few films are going to use Neom’s backdrops, but then we want to expand and tap into the huge studio facility built there.”
The first of the nine titles is Al-Gaid (working title), an epic 19th-century adventure set against the backdrop of the snowy northern Arabian desert, which will shoot at Neom’s Bajdah Desert Studios. “It’s very adventurous, very new, very different — and this is why we picked Neom and think it is the right partner,” says Mohammed Alhamoud, Telfaz11’s head of development. “We couldn’t have done it without Neom because it’s a difficult project to make and we need logistical support. And we needed a stunning location.”
Telfaz11 was drawn to Neom because it offers far more than the usual yellow sand desert with rolling dunes. “There are rocky mountains and a type of desert that, in winter, looks weird and stunning,” says Alhamoud. “Whichever direction you look, you see a very different type of landscape within 10 to 20 minutes. Logistically, it’s a producer’s dream.”
Problem solver
It is not just about the landscape — Alhamoud cites that Neom works “like co-producers”, helping to find solutions. “A co-producer is not about just money,” he says. “For example, we had a location that we wanted to shoot, but when the DoP came we had a different idea, and so we went to another location an hour into the desert. Neom didn’t say, ‘You cannot shoot there because it’s really far.’ They said, ‘If it helps the story, let’s figure it out.’”
The second film will be a hybrid production using both desert locations and studio space. It will be based at Neom Media Village rather than Bajdah, in order to utilise the state-of-the-art facilities and digital volume stage.
“We have a lot of camel scenes and it’s easier to shoot those inside a studio,” Alhamoud says. “In the desert, you cannot trust the weather — if you have wind, it’s difficult; if you have sun and you need shade, it’s difficult; if you have shade and you need sun, it’s difficult. This is a reason why we said this partnership was right, because we can produce anything here.”
Moreover, Neom’s proximity to the city of Tabuk offers even more flexibility. “Some neighbourhoods of Tabuk look like Riyadh, so we can shoot a film set in Riyadh or Jeddah entirely in Neom,” says Alhamoud.
Neom has seen a dramatic increase in industry jobs for the local community and “a transfer of knowledge”, he adds. “We are doing a lot of casting in Tabuk and have three major roles in our film played by locals. You now have a casting agency in Tabuk and some prop houses.”
For Ismail, this all bodes well for Telfaz11’s working relationship with Neom. “This is a multi-picture deal. We’re not coming in to do one project and leave,” she says. “The first project, which is one of our biggest, is going to be a great experience to learn from and do things more efficiently and in a faster way in the future.”
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