Famed director Simon West, known for his work on blockbuster films such as Con-Air&nbsp;and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, has set his sights on Saudi Arabia's production hub, Neom, for his upcoming historic drama, Antara.

This cinematic endeavour, co-produced by writer and producer Alexander Amartei and Stuart Sutherland, who boasts an impressive portfolio including Killing Eve, Born A King, and The Man Who Fell To Earth, delves into the remarkable life of Antara ibn Shaddad. A true story set in the sixth century, the film chronicles the extraordinary journey of Antara, a warrior and poet, who achieved fame despite being imprisoned.

With production scheduled to span 12 weeks, starting early in 2024, Antara&nbsp;is set to tap into Neom's enticing 40 per cent cash rebate for feature films, TV dramas, reality shows, documentaries, and commercials. The film will call Neom's Bajdah Studios home and make use of the picturesque nearby Red Sea coastline.

Director Simon West expressed his enthusiasm for bringing this lesser-known true story to life on the silver screen. "The life of Antara is one of those relatively little-known true stories that prove that fact can be so much stranger than fiction," West told Deadline. He also highlighted the significance of filming in the homeland of the Banu Abs tribe, emphasising the project's role in fostering the region's emerging&nbsp;film industry.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-armani-stages-star-studded-fashion-spectacle-in-venice-631944">Armani stages star-studded fashion spectacle in Venice</a>

Neom's Managing Director of Media Industries, Entertainment, and Culture, Wayne Borg, said the arrival of a big international production like Antara was further evidence of the growing confidence film producers have in Neom.

“They also boost our ecosystem’s development by providing unparalleled work experience opportunities for young Saudis and fast-track the development and growth of the local workforce,” he further told Deadline.

Upcoming productions set to grace Neom this fall include MBC's ambitious TV drama series Exceptional, comprising a staggering 200 episodes annually, and Hobal, a Saudi feature film directed by the acclaimed Abdulaziz Alshlahei. 
 
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Famed director Simon West, known for his work on blockbuster films such as Con-Air and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, has set his sights on Saudi Arabia's production hub, Neom, for his upcoming historic drama, Antara.

Famed director Simon West, known for his work on blockbuster films such as Con-Air and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, has set his sights on Saudi Arabia's production hub, Neom, for his upcoming historic drama, Antara. This cinematic endeavour, co-produced by writer and producer Alexander Amartei and Stuart Sutherland, who boasts an impressive portfolio including Killing Eve, Born A King, and The Man Who Fell To Earth, delves into the remarkable life of Antara ibn Shaddad. A true story set in the sixth century, the film chronicles the extraordinary journey of Antara, a warrior and poet, who achieved fame despite being imprisoned. With production scheduled to span 12 weeks, starting early in 2024, Antara is set to tap into Neom's enticing 40 per cent cash rebate for feature films, TV dramas, reality shows, documentaries, and commercials. The film will call Neom's Bajdah Studios home and make use of the picturesque nearby Red Sea coastline. Director Simon West expressed his enthusiasm for bringing this lesser-known true story to life on the silver screen. "The life of Antara is one of those relatively little-known true stories that prove that fact can be so much stranger than fiction," West told Deadline. He also highlighted the significance of filming in the homeland of the Banu Abs tribe, emphasising the project's role in fostering the region's emerging film industry. Also read: Armani stages star-studded fashion spectacle in Venice Neom's Managing Director of Media Industries, Entertainment, and Culture, Wayne Borg, said the arrival of a big international production like Antara was further evidence of the growing confidence film producers have in Neom. “They also boost our ecosystem’s development by providing unparalleled work experience opportunities for young Saudis and fast-track the development and growth of the local workforce,” he further told Deadline. Upcoming productions set to grace Neom this fall include MBC's ambitious TV drama series Exceptional, comprising a staggering 200 episodes annually, and Hobal, a Saudi feature film directed by the acclaimed Abdulaziz Alshlahei. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Director Simon West to shoot historic drama Antara in Saudi Arabia's Neom

Turkey&nbsp;on Thursday welcomed an&nbsp;Iraqi&nbsp;parliament move to reject a referendum&nbsp;on&nbsp;Kurdish&nbsp;independence.

The parliament in Baghdad authorised the prime minister to &quot;take all measures&quot; to preserve Iraq&#39;s unity in response to the move to hold an independence&nbsp;referendum&nbsp;in Iraq&#39;s semi-autonomous Kurdish&nbsp;region on Sept. 25.

Kurdish&nbsp;leader Massoud Barzani vowed to press ahead with the vote, calling it &quot;a natural right&quot;.

&quot;Barzani&#39;s&nbsp;referendum&nbsp;decision is a historic mistake.&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;will follow policies that take Iraq&#39;s territorial integrity as a basis,&quot; Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said.

&quot;The northern Iraq&nbsp;referendum&nbsp;must be cancelled, if not it will have a cost and retribution,&quot; he said, adding the move would erode the region&#39;s peace and bring security risks.

Turkey&nbsp;has the region&#39;s largest&nbsp;Kurdish&nbsp;population and fears a &#39;Yes&#39; vote could fuel separatism in its southeast where&nbsp;Kurdish&nbsp;militants have waged an insurgency for three decades in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.

Ankara has built solid ties with Barzani&#39;s administration, founded on strong economic and energy links as well as Ankara and Erbil&#39;s shared suspicions of other&nbsp;Kurdish&nbsp;groups and Iraq&#39;s central government.

Iran and Syria also oppose the vote, fearing it could fan separatism among their own&nbsp;Kurdish populations.

Western powers worry the plebiscite - which would include the oil-producing city of Kirkuk - could ignite conflict with the central government in Baghdad and divert attention from the war against Islamic State militants.

Turkey&#39;s Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Thursday, said: &quot;We find the (Iraqi&nbsp;Kurdish) leadership&#39;s insistent stance regarding the&nbsp;referendum&nbsp;and its increasingly emotional statements worrying.

&quot;It should be noted that this insistence will definitely have a cost,&quot; it added. &quot;We call on them to act with good sense and abandon this erroneous approach immediately.&quot;

The parliament in Baghdad authorised the prime minister to "take all measures" to preserve Iraq's unity in response to the move to hold an independence?referendum?in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish?region on Sept. 25.

Turkey on Thursday welcomed an Iraqi parliament move to reject a referendum on Kurdish independence. The parliament in Baghdad authorised the prime minister to "take all measures" to preserve Iraq's unity in response to the move to hold an independence referendum in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Sept. 25. Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani vowed to press ahead with the vote, calling it "a natural right". "Barzani's referendum decision is a historic mistake. Turkey will follow policies that take Iraq's territorial integrity as a basis," Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said. "The northern Iraq referendum must be cancelled, if not it will have a cost and retribution," he said, adding the move would erode the region's peace and bring security risks. Turkey has the region's largest Kurdish population and fears a 'Yes' vote could fuel separatism in its southeast where Kurdish militants have waged an insurgency for three decades in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. Ankara has built solid ties with Barzani's administration, founded on strong economic and energy links as well as Ankara and Erbil's shared suspicions of other Kurdish groups and Iraq's central government. Iran and Syria also oppose the vote, fearing it could fan separatism among their own Kurdish populations. Western powers worry the plebiscite - which would include the oil-producing city of Kirkuk - could ignite conflict with the central government in Baghdad and divert attention from the war against Islamic State militants. Turkey's Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Thursday, said: "We find the (Iraqi Kurdish) leadership's insistent stance regarding the referendum and its increasingly emotional statements worrying. "It should be noted that this insistence will definitely have a cost," it added. "We call on them to act with good sense and abandon this erroneous approach immediately."

Iraqi Kurdish referendum historic mistake: Turkey

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