Middle East and Africa’s largest cinema convention to address demand-supply mismatch and growth of contents in the MEA region

META Cinema Forum brings cinema stakeholders from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, CIS Countries and Turkey to address the demand for theatre facilities and shortage of film content in certain markets while the overall industry shows strong growth in the MEA region.

Dubai, August 31, 2022

The next edition of the hugely successful META Cinema Forum will address the demand-supply mismatch in film contents and theatre facilities across the Middle East and Africa that will be held from October 25 to 26, 2022, at the Atlantis the Palm, Dubai.

Cinema industry stakeholders from Turkey, Asia and CIS countries will join the META Cinema Forum which is in its fifth year, making it a truly global cinema industry convention that has become one of the must-attend global cinema conventions.

More than 500 industry delegates, experts and participants will discuss and debate the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry stakeholders at the META Cinema Forum. More than 60 suppliers will display the latest products and services that boosts the moviegoer experience. The two-day mega cinema industry conference will be followed by a three-day META Film Fest that will screen over 40 shortlisted full feature films, documentaries, and short films along with premieres of highly anticipated releases of 2022 at the VOX Cinemas at the Nakheel Mall.

“META Cinema Forum has become an international platform for the global cinema industry community to build partnerships and bridge the content gap, in addition, to discuss ways to expand the cinema chains into emerging markets,” Leila Masinaei, Managing Partner, Great Mind Events Management, said.

META Cinema Forum also complements the development of the creative economy whose contribution could make a significant impact in the Middle Eastern and African countries. It will boost the Dubai Creative Economy Strategy that aims to transform the emirate of Dubai into an international destination for creativity and the capital of the creative economy by 2025.

A recent report, The Future of the Creative Economy, by Deloitte, shows that the creative industry employed nearly 20 million people in nine countries researched by Deloitte.

“The nature of the creative economy will continue to change and specific businesses and sectors will thrive or decline. New sectors could emerge entirely. However, we can be optimistic that the creative economy as a whole is likely to grow over time,” Deloitte said in its research paper.

The Dubai Creative Economy Strategy aims to double the contribution of the creative industries to the GDP of Dubai from 2.6 per cent in 2020 to 5 per cent by 2025. It also seeks to more than double the number of Dubai-based creative companies from 8,300 in 2020 to 15,000 by 2025, and more than double the number of creators based in the emirate, from 70,000 in 2020 to 140,000 by 2025.

META Cinema Forum is the first and so far, the only cinema industry-focused convention in the Middle East and Africa region that has one of the fastest growing entertainment industries in the world where governments and the private sector are investing heavily in entertainment facilities to diversify economies and reduce dependency on a single economic sector.

The event brings all the stakeholders on a single platform to brainstorm on the growth of the industry and identify opportunities going forward. It will host seminars, awards, premieres of new movies, workshops, and masterclasses, and showcase new products and exclusive slate content presentations.

META Cinema Forum is backed by all the leading industry players. The event is supported by VOX Cinemas as the Strategic Cinema Partner, and the National Film Authority joining as Supporting Partner. Other leading industry partners include Universal Pictures International, Warner Bros. Entertainment, AMC Cinemas, Cinepolis Gulf, Maison SU, Cinemarine, CineBodrum, FilmHouse Cinemas, Golden Scene, Cinema Plus, Dolby, ME Cinemas, Starz Play, Cinepax and Empire Entertainment.