Saudi Ministry of Media Launches Documentary, ‘Horizon’, on Netflix

The documentary is the latest work of the Konoz Productive, Artistic and Visual Initiative. (SPA)
The documentary is the latest work of the Konoz Productive, Artistic and Visual Initiative. (SPA)
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Saudi Ministry of Media Launches Documentary, ‘Horizon’, on Netflix

The documentary is the latest work of the Konoz Productive, Artistic and Visual Initiative. (SPA)
The documentary is the latest work of the Konoz Productive, Artistic and Visual Initiative. (SPA)

Konoz, an initiative of the Saudi Ministry of Media's Center for Government Communication (CGC), released a new documentary called "Horizon" that, in collaboration with the National Center for Wildlife, highlights the abundance of wildlife and natural resources in Saudi Arabia.

 

The documentary is currently available on Netflix.

 

The documentary is the latest work of the Konoz Productive, Artistic and Visual Initiative and aims to raise awareness of the Kingdom's biodiversity, unique geographical areas, and efforts to protect wildlife, preserve rare species.

 

The documentary showcases a wide range of fungal organisms in their natural habitat, from the plains to the mountains and the sea to the valleys. Viewers will also spot dugongs, dolphins, the Arabian leopard, deer, and oryx.

 

The film also gives an extraordinary look at the ecological diversity of the Kingdom, with its varied terrain and regions defined by different climates, allowing for the peaceful cohabitation of over 10,000 species of animals.

 

The documentary takes viewers on a visual tour of five different elements—marine ecosystems, mountains, deserts, humans, and nature—before offering a peek into the potential future uses of the Kingdom's abundant natural resources.

 

The filming process lasted over 200 days and involved a specialized crew of 50 individuals who travelled over 4,700 km to film in 28 different locations across the Kingdom, including Riyadh, Tabuk, Taif, AlUla, Farasan Islands, and other regions. Additionally, 13 Saudi researchers with expertise in wildlife contributed to the documentary.

 

Minister of Media Salman bin Yousef Al-Dosari said: "Many of the secrets of wildlife in the Kingdom are presented to the world by the documentary ‘Horizon’.”

 

The documentary is available in Arabic and English.

 

One of the aims of the Kingdom Vision 2030 is to ensure that the Kingdom's environmental sector is well-developed and protected. The National Center for Wildlife has in recent years played a key role in this effort, underscoring the Kingdom's dedication to its natural heritage and drawing attention to the beautiful and scenic resources.



'Wicked' Tops SAG Awards Nominations Where Many Big-Names Are Shut out

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from the film "Wicked." (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from the film "Wicked." (Universal Pictures via AP)
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'Wicked' Tops SAG Awards Nominations Where Many Big-Names Are Shut out

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from the film "Wicked." (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from the film "Wicked." (Universal Pictures via AP)

"Wicked" topped nominations to the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards on Wednesday, landing a leading five nominations including best ensemble, and individual nods for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey.

Out-of-control wildfires that swept across Los Angeles and Southern California on Tuesday night forced the Screen Actors Guild to cancel its plans to announce the nominations live Wednesday morning. The nominations were instead issued by press release by SAG, which last year began a multiyear deal with Netflix to stream the awards.

The smash hit musical "Wicked" saw its Oscar chances rise in the SAG nominations, which came the morning after the film was celebrated by the National Board of Review Awards in New York. "Wicked" even scored a nod for best stunt ensemble.

The other nominees for best ensemble are: "Anora,Conclave,Emilia Pérez" and "A Complete Unknown."

It was an especially strong showing for the Bob Dylan drama "A Complete Unknown." It came away with four nominations, including Timothée Chalamet for best male actor, and supporting nods for both Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro.

The best male lead nominees were largely as expected: Adrien Brody ("The Brutalist"), Daniel Craig ("Queer"), Colman Domingo ("Sing Sing"), Ralph Fiennes ("Conclave") and Chalamet.

Coming off her rousing victory at the Golden Globes, Demi Moore was among the nominees for best female actor in a leading role for "The Substance." She was joined by Erivo, "Emilia Perez" breakout Karla Sofía Gascón, Mikey Madison of "Anora" and Pamela Anderson for "The Last Showgirl."

That surprisingly left out some big names. Angelina Jolie ("Maria") missed out, as did Nicole Kidman ("Babygirl"). A few of the most acclaimed actresses of the year, Marianne Jean-Baptiste ("Hard Truths") and Globe-winner Fernanda Torres ("I’m Still Here"), also were overlooked.

"The Last Showgirl" had more to celebrate, too, with an unexpected nomination for Jamie Lee Curtis in supporting female actor. Her fellow nominees are: Barbaro, Grande, Danielle Deadwyler ("The Piano Lesson") and Zoe Saldana ("Emilia Perez").

Jeremy Strong was nominated for his supporting performance as Roy Cohn in the Donald Trump film "The Apprentice," but his co-star, Sebastian Stan, went unnominated for both "The Apprentice" and "A Different Man." The other nominees for best supporting male actor were: Bailey, Norton, Yura Borisov ("Anora") and the category frontrunner, Kieran Culkin ("A Real Pain").

A few widely forecast supporting performance were snubbed there, too, including Denzel Washington ("Gladiator II") and Guy Pearce ("The Brutalist").

The SAG Awards are among the most closely watched Oscar bellwethers. Their picks don’t always align exactly with those of the film academy, but they often do.

The last three best ensemble winners — "Oppenheimer,Everything Everywhere All at Once,CODA" — all went on to win best picture at the Academy Awards. All but one of the SAG acting winners of the last three years has also won at the Oscars. The sole exception was Lily Gladstone, who won SAG’s award for female actor last year for "Killers of the Flower Moon," but the Oscar trophy went to Emma Stone ("Poor Things") at the Oscars.

While some overlooked performances might still land an Oscar nomination, any eventual Academy Award winner, including the best picture recipient, is almost surely coming from those nominated Wednesday. That's bad news for "The Brutalist," which triumphed at the Globes but missed out on a SAG ensemble nomination.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards will be held Feb. 23 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The ceremony, to be hosted by Kristen Bell. will be streamed live on Netflix. In addition to the competitive awards, Jane Fonda will be presented with the guild’s Life Achievement Award.