The political economy of Khaleeji cinema: Historical developments of Arab Gulf film industries

The chapter examines the local cinemas of six Arab Gulf States and how they struggle to maintain authenticity and recognition within the scholarship of national and transnational cinema. It highlights the lack of research about the Gulf region cinema and film industries in film studies and Arab cinema discourse. It introduces the term – Khaleeji – as a way for classification of the Gulf States’ film industries that are based on shared and historical interests and struggles. The chapter traces the development of film and cinema from the 1930s to 2010s and the role of states and corporations on the transnational sphere of Gulf cinema and industry. The chapter argues for the need to examine the cinema of the Gulf States as one Khaleeji cinema, and looks at how the cinema as an industry has developed in the region, noting three essential stages that have been shaped by political-economic relations.