CAREER HIGHLIGHT(S):
Faisal Baltyuor has been a film
producer since 2004 and is a pioneer in the Saudi film industry.
Before his post at Muvi Studios, he was the CEO of the Saudi Film
Council — the first Saudi governmental entity founded to support
the film industry in Saudi Arabia. Faisal also headed the film
industry development initiatives at the Saudi Ministry of Culture.
He is an advisor for three Saudi universities and several film
foundations, and a board member of Manga Production. Now
known as the leading Saudi distribution company with the most
extensive Saudi film library on the market, CineWaves achieved
early success with THE BOOK OF SUN, the first Saudi film to
surpass 100,000 local admissions in 2020. CineWaves’ slate also
includes Iraqi director Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji’s feature
HANGING GARDENS, and Mohamed Kordofani’s GOODBYE
JULIA, which the company also co-produced. Cinewaves joined
forces with Barajoun Studios, an animation and visual effects
company based in Dubai, and Kut the Crab — a Saudi
post-production house — to launch their production arm, Ideation
Studios, which produced Netflix’s feature FROM THE ASHES.
FAISAL BALTYUOR
FOUNDER of CINEWAVES FILMS
Saudi
TWELVE-MONTH HIGHLIGHT(S): 45th CIFF: ARZÉ, SPRING CAME ON LAUGHING, and PASSING DREAMS are three Arab films distributed by CineWaves, which won eight awards at the CIFF.
Non-Stop Co-Productions: In 2024, CineWaves co-produced
several films, such as Mehdi Barsaoui's AÏCHA (81st Venice), Rashid Masharawi’s PASSING DREAMS (45th CIFF), Morad
Mostafa’s AISHA CAN'T FLY AWAY (78th Cannes), Osama Alkhurayji’s SIWAR ( 11th Saudi Film Festival), and Karim
El-Shennawi’s THE TALE OF DAYE’S FAMILY (75th Berlinale).
AMBULANCE in IMAX: Back to Baltyuor’s former post as CEO
of Muvi Studios, he initiated production of the comedy film to be the first Arab film shot in IMAX format. Directed by British
filmmaker Colin Teague, CineWaves distributed the film and released it last April.
HIJRA: Renowned Saudi Arabian director Shahad Ameen’s second feature is produced by Ideation Studios, and
CineWaves is slated to release the film in Saudi Arabia.
Cinehouse: Baltyuor opened the first arthouse cinema in Riyadh last September. The 80-seat venue, called Cinehouse,
opened its program with the 1975 documentary DEVELOPMENT OF RIYADH CITY by Saudi filmmaker Abdullah Al-Muheisen.
New Saudi Voices: CineWaves curated the third season of the program on Netflix last January, which included 14 films.
