Abu Dhabi is to invest more than US$1 billion in film production

Abu Dhabi is to invest more than US$1 billion in film production and there are plans to tie up with the best in the Hollywood and other movie hubs. 
Imagenation Abu Dhabi, a firm set up by Abu Dhabi Media Company, will "spend in excess of one billion dollars over the course of next five years in the creation of both full-length feature films and digital content", the parent company said in a statement. 

This announcement came before the world of sport could take in the surprise entry of the emirate in the English Premier League. 
Abu Dhabi grabbed world headlines by buying English football club Manchester City. 

This was much more than a mere sponsorship that other regional brands have achieved so far. But the game changed dramatically when the richest city-state in the world, Abu Dhabi, bought into the richest league in the world. 

If that was not enough, the new boss of the club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, boosted the Dh1.4 million deal by allocating a further Dh225m on Brazilian striker Robinho. He also promised to spend almost a billion dirhams on top players, including Cristiano Ronaldo of arch-rival Manchester United, in a money-no-object bid to make the club "the biggest in the Premier League". 

A deal to acquire a football club of this status would have seemed like a straight forward business deal, but in tandem with the film project, the objectives seem to have additional dimensions. 

Roping in the top names of Hollywood including Warner Brothers and announcing multi-billion film projects is indicating where Abu Dhabi is looking at in near future and beyond. 

Abu Dhabi is gaining world recognition with massive capital investments. The decision by The President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to invest more than Dh10bn overnight in football and films has left fans and financiers amazed, at a time when the world markets are showing recession.

 
The Premier League and Hollywood are the world's most powerful brand builders who have combined talent and business acumen to create some of the most lucrative global franchises. 

Abu Dhabi has realised the power of the global super-brand, and has established The Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi. The emirate wants to invest and establish itself as the business and cultural capital of the Middle East, to diversify its economy and safeguard its long-term economic future. 

The investment in brands started almost a year ago when Abu Dhabi government's investment arms made major overseas acquisitions, including a stake in US banking giant Citigroup and the iconic Chrysler Building in New York. 
Hinting at the intentions of these investments Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim, the executive behind the City takeover, said: "It will raise the profile of Abu Dhabi." 
"Imagenation Abu Dhabi will enter into partnerships with high-profile US-based and other international producers to develop and produce content for distribution throughout the world," stated the official communiqué that announced their plans. 

The company will also support Middle East filmmakers and Arabian film production, it added. 

The statement did not identify which US or other international producers the company would work with, but CEO Edward Borgerding said the company's target was to produce eight award-winning films a year. 

"We are bringing Hollywood and the international production community to Arabia," he was quoted in the Telegraph.

 
The Abu Dhabi Media Company made a US$1bn deal in September 2007 with Warner Brothers, the Hollywood studio owned by Time Warner. 

The agreement was to make movies and video games. In the year that has elapsed since, the two partners have announced the movie Shorts directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring William H Macy, which is said to be a family-friendly adventure film. 

The lack of quantity in projects has not deterred the Abu Dhabi Media Company from investing more money into the movie business in Hollywood. 

The company's new subsidiary – Imagenation Abu Dhabi – will spend US$1bn more over the next five years, said Edward Borgerding, CEO of Abu Dhabi Media Company. The money will be spent in making feature films in partnership with three American producers, he said. 

Borgerding said Imagenation would make six to eight movies a year, with budgets of US$10m to US$50m a film. 

"We're not going to be making the Hollywood blockbuster type," he was quoted in The New York Times as saying, which typically can have budgets of more than US$100m. 

– Emirates Business 24|7. 

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