Via Lucas Shaw in bloomberg.com: Over the past two weeks, dozens of movie stars, filmmakers and Hollywood executives visited Jeddah, a metropolis on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, for the fourth edition of the Red Sea Film Festival. Vin Diesel and Emily Blunt received awards at the opening ceremony. Spike Lee and Minnie Driver served on the jury. Agents from CAA and WME spoke on panels alongside executives from production outfits such as Fremantle and Anonymous Content. While Wall Street, Silicon Valley and some in Hollywood have been tapping Gulf money for some time, Saudi Arabia has emerged as a hub of financing and production in just the past few years. The state-backed Public Investment Fund has already invested billions in video games and sports, and the country is now offering generous incentives — a rebate of about 40% — to film in Saudi Arabia.
