Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh.
In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh.
The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films.
Illustration: Constance Chou
A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of Egypt’s media and entertainment industry — would see “cooperation in an array of fields” including “theater, cinema and music,” the Egyptian Ministry of Culture said.
For culture critic Magda Khairallah, this is yet another example of “Saudi Arabia wanting to change the stereotype about its relationship with art.”
On Egyptian television, al-Sheikh defended the agreement as benefiting everyone.
“Egypt is teeming with talent and professionals, and Saudi Arabia is going through a major renaissance,” he said. “By complementing each other, we can take a great leap forward together.”
The conservative Gulf kingdom has pivoted away from its forbidding reputation for several years, inaugurating mixed-gender music festivals and cinemas, while easing social rules.
“But you can’t create an art scene overnight,” Khairallah said, and that is where Egyptian talent comes in.
For a century, Cairo has been known as the “Hollywood of the Arab World,” its films much loved and stars recognized across the region.
However, with Egypt facing the worst economic crisis in its modern history, its media industry included, Saudi Arabian beneficence is breeding an unequal power dynamic of more buyout than partnership, Khairallah said.
“There’s a difference between collaboration and financing; in a collaboration both sides are creating and producing art, but that’s not what Saudi Arabia is doing,” Khairallah said. “They’re getting our art, our stars and our music, for a price.”
Already, Saudi Arabia’s growing film festival circuit — part of the kingdom’s plan to attract 30 million tourists a year by 2030 — is studded with Egyptian artists, actors and musicians.
Yet despite Riyadh’s rise as a new cultural Mecca for Arab talent, not everything has gone smoothly.
Last month, the first “Saudi-Egyptian Night” — a musical event at the Cairo Opera House — caused a stir among Egypt’s cultural critics.
Headlined by Egyptian talent including maestro Omar Khairat and singers Mohammed Mounir and Sherine Abdelwahab, the evening was attended by Cairo’s glitterati and their benefactor Turki al-Sheikh, who was the guest of honor.
Hend Salama, who leads theater news coverage at Egyptian magazine Rose al-Youssef, said that “there was no respect” for the opera house as an institution.
“It is a symbol of Egyptian art, not a private stage,” she said. “The Saudi Entertainment Authority alone was in charge of invitations, selecting celebrities. How can we call that collaboration?”
Egyptian critic Mohamed Abdelkhalek said the event also contravened a de facto culture ministry moratorium to suspend all festivities and celebrations in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip.
“We canceled the Cairo Film Festival and we canceled the Arab Music festival. What has happened now? Have the massacres stopped?” Abdelkhalek asked.
Riyadh has been accelerating its charm offensive as part of a strategy by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to divert Saudi Arabian oil wealth into movies, sports, video games and tourism, while overseeing dramatic domestic social change.
In a rare move, the kingdom has already bestowed Saudi Arabian citizenship on a handful of celebrities, including Egyptian comedy star Mohammed Heneidy and talk show host Amr Adib.
Sheikh has also announced his “Big Time” fund for Arab cinema, which is set to produce 10 Egyptian films this year.
The endeavor — worth four billion Egyptian pounds (US$86 million) — is a major boost to an industry with a wealth of talent but an economic landscape that has hobbled production capacity.
In the 1950s, when the industry was nationalized in the early days of the republic, Egypt was the world’s third-largest film producer.
Now, despite having produced three-quarters of all Arab movies, only 21 films were released in 2022.
As Saudi Arabia attempts to build a “cultural archive of its own, it’s only natural for it to lean on Egyptian artists and technicians for the Saudi artistic renaissance,” Abdelkhalek said.
That flurry of Saudi Arabian-funded production is directly benefiting Egyptian artists, including theater directors and actors who now showcase plays in the kingdom.
However, Khairallah said this would also be a double-edged sword.
“Having funding is great, as long as that doesn’t come with imposing ideas on the Egyptian artist,” she said. “Then it’s just a way to exert control.”
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