DUBAI: Rasha AlEmam does not lack ambition. “I want to be in the history books,” the Saudi producer, founder of Yellow Camel Studios, tells Arab News. “I’d love to be called the godfather of the Saudi film industry one day.”
That dream’s not as far-fetched as it might sound. In fact, it’s entirely in step with where AlEmam stands today: as one of the most influential figures behind the camera in Saudi Arabia’s booming screen scene.
Before launching her own company, AlEmam spent years working with established media giants including the MBC Group, eventually becoming head of productions at MBC Studios during what she describes as “a transformative moment” for the wider industry.
Rasha AlEmam on the set of 'Dunki' in Jeddah in 2022. (Instagram)
Her trajectory mirrors the Kingdom’s cinematic awakening. As a co-producer on Rupert Wyatt’s international Saudi-shot feature, “Desert Warrior,” she has already helped to shape what large-scale productions in Saudi could look like. That experience, she says, was nothing short of a crash course — “It was a film school in a nutshell.”
The production ran for a year and a half, starting in 2020, with months of intensive prep and a shoot based largely in NEOM at a time when the region’s infrastructure was still in its infancy. “There isn’t any production problem you can imagine that didn’t happen,” she says with a laugh.
The lessons haven’t just been technical, but cultural too. Working with Hollywood on “Desert Warrior,” then with Bollywood on the Shak Rukh Khan-led “Dunki” (“a completely different method of work”) and with teams from around the Arab world has given AlEmam a solid understanding of how different countries’ industries operate. And she is confident Yellow Camel Studios matches any of them.
The decision to leave the comfort and scale of MBC can’t have been easy. But following the launch of the Ministry of Culture’s production rebate and the high-profile shoot of “Desert Warrior,” opportunity came knocking.
“When we wrapped ‘Desert Warrior’ I started getting calls from international producers who wanted to come and shoot in Saudi. But I kept saying, ‘I can’t do this because it’s a conflict of interest.’ Then one of my friends said: ‘Who’s gonna do it if you’re not?’ So I said, ‘You know what? Yalla.’ So I resigned, and started Yellow Camel with the intention to support international productions coming to Saudi and give them a good experience.”
With the Kingdom’s film infrastructure still in the “baby steps” phase at the time, AlEmam felt considerable responsibility on her shoulders.
AlEmam (second from right) with cast and crew members on the set of 'Desert Warrior.' (Supplied)
“You’d mostly be worried about the perception and reputation,” she says. “You want them to go back and say, ‘Yes, go to Saudi… they can pull it off. It’s a good place to be.’ Not: ‘Don’t go there. They don’t know what they’re doing.’”
Yellow Camel — the first Saudi, female-led production company — has become a go-to partner for some of the biggest international and regional projects to shoot in the Kingdom. “We did ‘Dunki’ with Shah Rukh Khan, we did ‘In the Grey’ with Guy Ritchie, we did ‘K-Pops’ with Anderson .Paak — a lot of films, a lot of ads and TV series,” she AlEmam says. She also co-produced Abu Bakr Shawky’s acclaimed Saudi feature “Hajjan.”
Now, Yellow Camel is beginning to create its own intellectual property and original films, with the “first fully Yellow Camel Saudi film” — called “Noble Departure” — due to shoot this year, she says.
While Yellow Camel grew out of servicing international productions, AlEmam is clear that her mission is not to “convince” foreigners to come to the Kingdom, but to show them what’s already there.
“The landscape in Saudi is so amazing. You would not believe the variety,” she says. “So, we just try to create awareness of what’s available here. The incentives are the highest in the world.”
And she believes the fact that the Kingdom’s creative industries are so young is an advantage for Saudi storytellers, who aren’t having to resort to reboots, or extensions of existing IP.
“Because we have just started, we haven’t told our stories yet,” she says. “When the whole world (is finished) with their stories, we are just starting to tell our stories.”
If there is a major hurdle left, she argues, it is not infrastructure or government support — both of which she describes as strong — but talent, particularly when it comes to writing.
“The challenge is having enough Saudi writers to cater to this market,” she says. “We have a few good writers but they’re over-occupied because everyone wants them. If you have more writers, you can create more IP and scripts. You’ll have different flavors of writing. It’s not going to all sound the same.”
AlEmam is doing her part to ensure the Saudi talent pool grows. And it’s here that her ‘godfather’ ambition becomes most apparent.
“We do workshops all year long, and we train on sets. We have 30 to 40 trainees on every film in different departments,” she says. “We’re trying to elevate the market very quickly and have local resources ready to be on major productions.”
Her advice to young Saudis dreaming of careers behind the camera is refreshingly blunt.
“Start from the bottom up. Everyone wants a sexy title. You can get a sexy title, but you have to work for it,” she says. “Sometimes, I interview young Saudis who say, ‘I’m a producer, director, and a writer.’ Habibi! Choose a profession! Choose something you love and let it kill you. You have to work for it. You have to have the passion for it.”
