“The thought of organizing a film festival in Saudi Arabia was unimaginable just five years ago.”

-Mohamed Abdel Rahman, Egyptian art critic, on the start of the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah less than four years after a 35-year ban on cinemas was lifted.  PwC estimates that Saudi Arabia’s annual box office could reach $950 million by 2030 and that Saudi Arabia’s forecast population of nearly 40 million could absorb up to 2,600 cinema screens. [AFP]