Talent Coordination in Saudi Arabia

Our Saudi talent coordinators run day-to-day actor logistics for Saudi-resident stars. These include Mila Al Zahrani (The Perfect Candidate 2019, dir. Haifaa al-Mansour) and Waad Mohammed (Wadjda 2012 first Saudi feature). They also include Fatima Al-Banawi (Barakah Meets Barakah 2016 dir. Mahmoud Sabbagh), Hisham Fageeh, Fahad Albutairi, Saeed Saleh, Khalid Saqer, Sumayya Sabbagh, and Bayan Al-Zahrani. We work with the Telfaz11 ensemble behind Sattar (2022 Saudi box-office record, dir. Ali Kalthami) too. We also run global fly-in talent. Gerard Butler shot Kandahar 2023 at AlUla and NEOM ($43M, dir. Ric Roman Waugh). Anthony Mackie shot Desert Warrior 2024 at AlUla (dir. Rupert Wyatt). Buy-in runs through the GEA (General Entertainment Authority) performer registry. Saudi has no home film actor union. We also handle reciprocal SAG-AFTRA, BECTU UK, and DGA forms. These run via Dubai-based EPS payroll bureaus (Entertainment Partners ME, Talent Bank Dubai). For AlUla shoots, we book hotel and trailer lodging at Habitas AlUla, Banyan Tree AlUla, and Shaden Resort AlUla. We use Ritz-Carlton Jeddah for RSIFF press windows. We use Four Seasons Riyadh, Hilton Riyadh, and Boulevard Hilton for Riyadh shoots.

The schedule works around five daily prayer-time pauses (Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha). It also works around Friday ~12:00-13:30. In Ramadan, the peak shoot window runs iftar-to-suhoor, 9pm-2am. We brief global talent with fasting-aware call sheets. October-April is the ideal shoot window (15-30°C). June-September brings extreme heat (45-50°C), so we use hydration and AC trailer rules. We brief female talent on the modest dress code for domestic broadcast. We brief on religious site dress codes for shoots near or in heritage zones. Mecca and Medina have curbs (Hajj broadcast only via accredited Muslim TV networks). On compliance, we handle Ministry of Human Resources work permits. We arrange Iqama residency for stays over 90 days. We set up GOSI payroll sign-ups. We get GCAM (General Commission for Audiovisual Media) type. We arrange Tawuniya, Bupa Arabia, and Walaa Insurance talent cover. We bring crew and gear from Dubai too. The DXB to RUH flight takes 90-min, or the E11 highway takes 12-hour. The workweek runs Sunday-Thursday. The SAR is pegged 3.75:1 to USD. There is zero personal income tax, which is great for talent per-diems and relocations. We promote talent through the Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF Jeddah, chairman Mohammed Al Turki, annual since 2021). We also use the Saudi Film Festival Dhahran at Ithra and the AlUla Film Awards.