Like many Middle East executives, Gianluca Chakra, the founder of distributor and producer Front Row Filmed Entertainment, has not made the trip to AFM this year, in part due to the Iran-US war.
The Dubai-based Chakra says the geopolitical situation in the region has caused uncertainty, but stresses that films are still being released and deals still happening.
“Buyers are just being more cautious, and that’s not exclusive to MENA. We’re seeing it internationally,” explains Chakra, whose release slate across the region this year includes Shelter, Hokum, Colony, Sirat and I Swear, alongside its Saudi production A Matter of Life and Death, which is Saudi Arabia’s official submission for the Oscars.
He says the theatrical market in the UAE and Kuwait both took a hit during the initial US-Iran escalation, although the UAE bounced back, while Saudi Arabia – one of the region’s strongest theatrical markets – is softer.
In the conflict hit Levant, he notes that Syria has been off the commercial theatrical map for years and describes Jordan as “very hit and miss”, making it increasingly difficult for distributors to justify standalone theatrical releases. Lebanon has been affected by the collapse of the Lebanese lira and continued Israeli military activity.
In Egypt, he says the devaluation of the Egyptian pound has seriously affected the value of box-office revenues in dollar terms, even when local films perform well.
Delayed payments
As a result, some buyers have scaled back, while others remain active. Making things difficult in parts of the region is cash flow. “You have exhibitors taking longer to settle payments, broadcasters and platforms being more cautious with their spending, and distributors caught in the middle.
“The problem is that when payments get delayed, it affects everyone down the line. Distributors still have to pay sales agents and producers, who have their own commitments. So, when one side slows down, the whole chain gets affected,” says Chakra.
It’s partly because of the war that Chakra has not travelled to the US this week, but he also flags the risk of delays or refusal of entry to the US for travellers from the region. “Who wants to take a 16 or 17-hour flight only to risk hours and hours of questioning or potentially being sent back?,” he says, stressing that he’s taking calls remotely before and during AFM.
Another reason for caution about travelling is that many attractive commercial titles are increasingly being tied up in global deals, leaving fewer opportunities for independent territorial distributors like Front Row. “So it’s not just about how much product is out there, but how much is actually available to us,” he says.
Indeed, many of the challenges are international in nature, not just confined to the Middle East, he notes. “I think the independent business is going through a bit of a correction globally. “There used to be a much wider range of films that could find an audience and make decent money without necessarily becoming massive hits. Now everything seems to be either a big commercial success or a disappointment, with very little in between. And that’s a problem because the industry was never built on blockbusters alone.”
Pay-1 deals
Like everywhere, pay-1 deals are getting thinner on the ground in the Middle East too. “Traditional slate deals have become increasingly difficult to put together. Platforms are much more interested in cherry-picking individual titles rather than committing to a broader package. And when you can no longer count on those secondary-window revenues, it changes how much you can afford to pay for a film in the first place. That’s probably one of the biggest adjustments independent distributors are having to make.”
Platforms still need content, Chakra says, but there’s a growing focus on local-language productions and the bigger international commercial titles.
“For everything else, you’re looking for that high-concept film that can break through. Everyone wants to find the next Talk to Me, Hokum, Backrooms or Obsession… and it’s no coincidence that horror has become so attractive. You can make a great horror film without spending a fortune or relying on major stars.”
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