The new seven-day Creative Producer Training programme will be exclusively offered via the University of Southern California.
Netflix has launched a Creative Producer Training programme to help upskill 15 professional Saudi television creative producers. The training will provide the necessary skills and opportunities to Saudi producers to advance their career in film and television.
In October 2022, Netflix signed a partnership with SPT in Saudi Arabia to help train and upskill 15 young talents in Saudi through on-set training and workshops focused on art department and production roles.
School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) of Southern California (USC) will offer the seven-week programme exclusively. The programme will cover the creation, formation, and execution of a TV pitch, pilot script, and writer’s room, led by an SCA alumnus and screenwriter and producer, Jason Shuman.
Netflix worked with USC to design the programme, which aims to develop the talent pipeline in the Kingdom, and generate a qualified network of talent for the regional and global film industry.
The programme kicked off with an intensive three-day, in-person training in Riyadh covering the full range of skills required to develop quality TV shows. Participants deep-dived into the qualities of a good writer and producer, the development process for different formats, going from pitch to script and script to series, and finally, producing the pilot and series. A series of online workshops are currently underway, covering the development and production process, followed by pitches and a hands-on writer’s room experience.
Speaking of the launch, Jason Shuman said: “The entire programme was beautifully put together. I was thoroughly impressed with the passion and professionalism of both the Netflix and SCA team. The students in attendance may have been born and raised far from Hollywood, but their love and appreciation for the arts, especially in the medium of television, was as genuine as I’ve ever seen. I am excited for the future of storytelling in Saudi Arabia.”
Nuha El Tayeb, Content Director of Middle East, Turkey, and Africa at Netflix, added: “The booming entertainment industry in Saudi Arabia presents an incredible opportunity for aspiring creatives to grow, learn, and advance their careers. Knowledge transfer is critical to building this thriving creative community, and partnerships like the one with USC, allow us to expose promising talent to the tools and industry insight needed to create best-in-class content. Some of the producers participating in this training programme have worked on shows and films currently streaming on Netflix, and we hope that through continued industry collaboration and initiatives such as this will help amplify their work further and create more avenues for Arab talent to shine on the global stage.”
