Filmmakers, production companies, and entertainment venture funds from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are looking to co-produce more projects in China amid the growing appeal of the nation’s movie and TV content in the international market.
Participants from the Gulf nations at the 29th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, or FilMart, industry event which opened on March 17, spoke about the soaring popularity of Chinese entertainment content and cultural elements globally, and the potential opportunities for collaborations and joint productions with Chinese partners.
Emad Eskander, head of the Red Sea Fund at Saudi Arabia-based Red Sea Film Foundation, said China “is blessed with a culture something so unique” that has enabled the culture to flourish internationally.
Eskander, a first-time visitor to FilMart and one of the speakers at the 2025 event, was referring to the Chinese animated movie Ne Zha 2, which as of March 15 had generated over $2.072 billion worldwide, surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens and becoming fifth on the list of the highest-grossing films in global box office history.
The Chinese production had earlier become the highest-grossing animation movie of all time globally.
In Japan, the original Chinese version of Ne Zha 2, with Chinese and English subtitles, has been released in major cities, covering 32 theaters. The Japanese-subtitled version is set to be released on April 4.
Eskander, who is a filmmaker himself, said that at the Red Sea Fund, at least 50 percent of the submissions received by the fund, when it started accepting proposals for post-production projects to include Asia, for the first time — for the first cycle of the year, which ran from Feb 6 to 27 — were from China.
The other 50 percent, he said, came from some 40 countries combined. The fund had previously been opened to the Arab world and Africa.
The overall potential for collaboration, he said, is with independent film makers. “Over the course of the full year, they are expecting up to 2,000 submissions,” he said.
Established in 2021, the Red Sea Fund has supported more than 280 projects in which several former recipients have gone on to earn global recognition and accolades.
Henry Bolade, finance and commercial director at Kobovaola Resources, an independent animation and gaming development studio based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, told China Daily that in the long-term, they would want to start distribution of their products to TV companies, noting a shift from Netflix.
“I think China will have a significant role to play,” he said. “We want to produce our materials in a timely manner. Speed is of essence.”
Julia Nikolaeva, general manager at Animotion Media Group, another Abu Dhabi-based company, said that they brought their existing catalog as well as new IPs (intellectual property) to this year’s event.
The group started exploring the Chinese market in 2011 and reaped much success through partnerships with Chinese companies such as the Alibaba Group and CCTV. Despite having been in the market for some time, Nikolaeva said she does not believe it is saturated.
“We produce and distribute animation content for kids and family audience. Both (TV) series and films,” said Nikolaeva, adding that the Chinese market “is very relevant for us.”
Jiang Xueqing contributed to this story.
