Pushing the Boundaries: The Development of Film Industries in the Gulf Countries from 2004 to 2017

Abstract

It employs a transnational cinema approach as a framework that is able to locate the political and socio-economic context of Gulf States' film industries in the age of globalisation and digitisation. The study provides an appropriate entry point in film policy, production, distribution and exhibition in the Gulf States to better understand the growth and shifting dynamics of the Gulf film industries between 2004 and 2017. The thesis uses the available data to create new knowledge and understanding about the wider sphere of the film industry in the Gulf region. It draws on statistical and secondary data to cross-examine the implications of the fast-tracking of film development in UAE and Qatar on the wider cinema of the Gulf. This thesis makes a contribution to an emerging literature of the Gulf cinema and film industries, upon which additional analysis can be conducted and developed.