Steven O'Dell and Hassan Al Thawadi Roll Out Hollywood’s Red Carpet in Doha

Olivia Bennett, 11/23/2025Sony waltzes into Doha, trading old Hollywood cameos for genuine partnership. This headline-making pact promises Arab cinema a leading role—more than glitzy premieres, it’s a dazzling, region-first rewrite of who holds the pen in today’s global film story. Lights up in the Middle East—Hollywood, take notes.

Was this to be another polite foray by Western studios into Middle Eastern markets, all flashbulbs, borrowed kaftans, and little substance? Absurd. Sony’s agreement with Qatar’s newly assembled Film Committee—finalized amidst a swirl of espresso shots and silver trays—signals a gear shift. It isn’t about one-off photo ops or perfunctory co-productions destined to vanish post-press release. They’re in for the long haul, pen poised for a multi-year, multi-picture partnership designed to catapult Arabic-language cinema past the velvet ropes of global distribution.

Steven O’Dell, never one to mince words, described the region as “one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing in entertainment”—and it’s hard to challenge that. After all, 2025 is shaping up to be a year when everyone with a pulse (and a platform) is courting audiences beyond the usual Los Angeles echo chamber. Yet Sony’s latest move feels strangely personal: a pact constructed, not as a benevolent handout, but as a blueprint for sustainable, homegrown storytelling with real creative muscle.

Of course, every studio press release promises vision; the machinery beneath it is rarely on display. Not so here. This isn’t glitzy window dressing—it’s deep infrastructure. The deal boasts joint financial and creative control, global screens, and, to sweeten the pot, a 50% cash rebate for productions. Move over, basic film grants—this is a couture-level commitment (cinema’s answer to a custom Schiaparelli, if you’ll pardon the reference).

But perhaps the most intriguing detail lies backstage: an incubation lab for writers, designed to nurture regional talent away from the lure of lazy remakes and tired tropes. Yes, there’s already talk of an Arabic-language spin on “Serendipity”—because Hollywood could never pass up a bit of self-referential chic—but the bigger promise lies in cultivating new auteurs, not repackaging old formulas.

Hassan Al Thawadi—whose resume already sparkles with the 2022 FIFA World Cup—emerges as the deal’s architect and, in some ways, its conscience. His mantra? Genuine Arabic stories, globally amplified but locally rooted. “Exceptional stories can come from anywhere—and reach everywhere,” Al Thawadi insisted, slicing clean through committee platitudes with the confidence of someone who’s orchestrated bigger global moments. It’s a sentiment as current as today’s TikTok scroll, but one that carries heft in a region too often cast as background scenery.

There’s another current, though, flowing beneath these scripted soundbites: the unmistakable shift of cinematic influence. The Global South has stopped asking for a seat at the table; instead, it’s building new tables altogether. Sony’s arrangement, twinned with fresh deals involving Neon, Miramax, and a motley crew of U.S. indies, is less about parachuting Hollywood gloss onto foreign backdrops and more about flipping the narrative. Suddenly, Doha (and Cairo, and perhaps Karachi soon enough) is becoming the kind of unpredictable, kinetic creative hub that even seasoned executives are watching with both curiosity and envy.

Still, the pitfalls are obvious to anyone paying attention. The industry’s history with glossy, hollow “international partnerships” is longer than most movie credits. There’s an ever-present danger that “local voices” could become set dressing for the same old stories. Authenticity remains a moving target. Still, the structure of the Sony-Qatar pact—every project anchored by a jointly approved local producer—suggests that, for once, imported vanity is out, homegrown artistry in.

What’s certain is that the air in Doha feels different these days, buzzing with the kind of possibility that once belonged exclusively to Hollywood Boulevard. There are no guarantees—filmmaking, after all, is an unpredictable affair, as anyone nursing a Cannes hangover can attest. Yet this partnership could become a model not just for the Middle East, but for any region determined to write its own story on its own terms.

Sometimes, the most interesting drama unfolds not in the plotlines onscreen, but in the careful choreography of who controls the story to begin with. Right now, it seems, the script for tomorrow’s Arabic cinema is being written not in LA’s cloistered backlots, but scene by scene in Doha—Sony, for once, happy to let someone else take the lead.

The velvet ropes were barely untied, and already Doha’s fledgling film scene was awash in high-octane ambition. At the inaugural Doha Film Festival—an event that’s left even seasoned festival-goers blinking beneath the chandeliers—Sony Pictures International Productions decided to make its entrance not with small talk or safe bets, but with a deal as rich as the gold statuettes everyone secretly covets.Was this to be another polite foray by Western studios into Middle Eastern markets, all flashbulbs, borrowed kaftans, and little substance? Absurd. Sony’s agreement with Qatar’s newly assembled Film Committee—finalized amidst a swirl of espresso shots and silver trays—signals a gear shift. It isn’t about one-off photo ops or perfunctory co-productions destined to vanish post-press release. They’re in for the long haul, pen poised for a multi-year, multi-picture partnership designed to catapult Arabic-language cinema past the velvet ropes of global distribution.Steven O’Dell, never one to mince words, described the region as “one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing in entertainment”—and it’s hard to challenge that. After all, 2025 is shaping up to be a year when everyone with a pulse (and a platform) is courting audiences beyond the usual Los Angeles echo chamber. Yet Sony’s latest move feels strangely personal: a pact constructed, not as a benevolent handout, but as a blueprint for sustainable, homegrown storytelling with real creative muscle.Of course, every studio press release promises vision; the machinery beneath it is rarely on display. Not so here. This isn’t glitzy window dressing—it’s deep infrastructure. The deal boasts joint financial and creative control, global screens, and, to sweeten the pot, a 50% cash rebate for productions. Move over, basic film grants—this is a couture-level commitment (cinema’s answer to a custom Schiaparelli, if you’ll pardon the reference).But perhaps the most intriguing detail lies backstage: an incubation lab for writers, designed to nurture regional talent away from the lure of lazy remakes and tired tropes. Yes, there’s already talk of an Arabic-language spin on “Serendipity”—because Hollywood could never pass up a bit of self-referential chic—but the bigger promise lies in cultivating new auteurs, not repackaging old formulas.Hassan Al Thawadi—whose resume already sparkles with the 2022 FIFA World Cup—emerges as the deal’s architect and, in some ways, its conscience. His mantra? Genuine Arabic stories, globally amplified but locally rooted. “Exceptional stories can come from anywhere—and reach everywhere,” Al Thawadi insisted, slicing clean through committee platitudes with the confidence of someone who’s orchestrated bigger global moments. It’s a sentiment as current as today’s TikTok scroll, but one that carries heft in a region too often cast as background scenery.There’s another current, though, flowing beneath these scripted soundbites: the unmistakable shift of cinematic influence. The Global South has stopped asking for a seat at the table; instead, it’s building new tables altogether. Sony’s arrangement, twinned with fresh deals involving Neon, Miramax, and a motley crew of U.S. indies, is less about parachuting Hollywood gloss onto foreign backdrops and more about flipping the narrative. Suddenly, Doha (and Cairo, and perhaps Karachi soon enough) is becoming the kind of unpredictable, kinetic creative hub that even seasoned executives are watching with both curiosity and envy.Still, the pitfalls are obvious to anyone paying attention. The industry’s history with glossy, hollow “international partnerships” is longer than most movie credits. There’s an ever-present danger that “local voices” could become set dressing for the same old stories. Authenticity remains a moving target. Still, the structure of the Sony-Qatar pact—every project anchored by a jointly approved local producer—suggests that, for once, imported vanity is out, homegrown artistry in.What’s certain is that the air in Doha feels different these days, buzzing with the kind of possibility that once belonged exclusively to Hollywood Boulevard. There are no guarantees—filmmaking, after all, is an unpredictable affair, as anyone nursing a Cannes hangover can attest. Yet this partnership could become a model not just for the Middle East, but for any region determined to write its own story on its own terms.Sometimes, the most interesting drama unfolds not in the plotlines onscreen, but in the careful choreography of who controls the story to begin with. Right now, it seems, the script for tomorrow’s Arabic cinema is being written not in LA’s cloistered backlots, but scene by scene in Doha—Sony, for once, happy to let someone else take the lead.