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Saudi Documentary Film 'Horizon' Wins Platinum Hermes International Creative Award for 2024

Saudi Documentary Film 'Horizon' Wins Platinum Hermes International Creative Award for 2024
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Saudi Documentary Film 'Horizon' Wins Platinum Hermes International Creative Award for 2024

Saudi Documentary Film 'Horizon' Wins Platinum Hermes International Creative Award for 2024

The Saudi documentary film "Horizon" has won the prestigious Platinum Hermes International Creative Award for 2024 in the Strategic Campaigns Category. The film faced tough competition from several other renowned international works.

Produced by Saudi Arabia’s Konoz Initiative, one of the initiatives of the Government Communication Center of the Ministry of Media in collaboration with the National Center for Wildlife (NCW), the film showcases a diverse range of wildlife, including the dugong (sea cow), dolphins, the Arabian leopard, various gazelle species, and oryx.

It also highlights Saudi Arabia's rich biodiversity, with over 10,000 species, each uniquely adapted to its environment.

Filming for the documentary took over 200 days, with a specialized crew of 50 people traveling over 4,700 km to shoot in 28 locations. The project involved 13 Saudi wildlife experts.

The Konoz initiative is part of the Human Capability Development Program under the Kingdom's Vision 2030 realization programs. It aims to visually document the Kingdom's treasures and contribute to an artistic shift in film production.

The initiative has produced several works, such as "A Difficult Stage," "Nawras Al-Arab (Arabian Gull)," "Ala Hadden Sawa (Alike)," "What Do Saudis Eat," and "Saudi Atlas."

"Horizon" aims to raise awareness of about the Kingdom's environmental diversity, introduce its unique geographical areas, showcase efforts to protect wildlife and conserve rare species by highlighting the breathtaking nature teeming with plant and animal life.

The Kingdom is committed to environmental protection as a program and goal of Vision 2030, prioritizing wildlife conservation and enacting strict regulations to protect it under NCW supervision.

The Hermes Creative Awards have received over 325,000 entries from 135 countries since their inception. The American International Award was launched 27 years ago and is among the oldest and largest international creative competitions.

The awards honor the most distinguished entries from individuals and media institutions each year for their excellence in marketing, creativity, communication, advertising, and impact.

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Statham’s 'A Working Man’ Upsets ‘Snow White’ to Take No. 1 at Box Office

This image released by Amazon MGM Studios shows Jason Statham in a scene from "A Working Man." (Dan Smith/Amazon MGM Studios via AP)
This image released by Amazon MGM Studios shows Jason Statham in a scene from "A Working Man." (Dan Smith/Amazon MGM Studios via AP)
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Statham’s 'A Working Man’ Upsets ‘Snow White’ to Take No. 1 at Box Office

This image released by Amazon MGM Studios shows Jason Statham in a scene from "A Working Man." (Dan Smith/Amazon MGM Studios via AP)
This image released by Amazon MGM Studios shows Jason Statham in a scene from "A Working Man." (Dan Smith/Amazon MGM Studios via AP)

In an unexpected upset, the Jason Statham thriller “A Working Man” took No. 1 at the box office, besting the rapidly declining “Snow White,” according to studio estimates Sunday.

Even after a lackluster debut, the Walt Disney Co.’s live-action remake was predicted to remain the top film in US and Canadian theaters over the weekend. Instead, “Snow White,” plagued by bad buzz and backlash, nosedived in its second weekend and dropped 66%, The Associated Press reported.

At the same time, Amazon MGM Studios’ “A Working Man,” directed by David Ayer, beat expectations with a $15.2 million debut. Co-written by Sylvester Stallone, “A Working Man” reteams Statham and Ayer following last year’s successful “The Beekeeper” ($162 million worldwide). This time around, Statham plays a construction worker with an elite military past.

While reviews have been mixed and audiences only gave “A Working Man” a “B” CinemaScore, showing Statham has carved out something rare in the movie industry today: bankability. “A Working Man” opened similarly to “The Beekeeper,” which launched with $16.5 million.

The bigger headline, though, might have been the fast erosion of ticket buyers' appetite for “Snow White.” The film, directed by Marc Webb and starring Rachel Zegler, had been hoped to lift movie theaters after a painful start to 2025. Produced for more $250 million, the film has turned into a poisoned apple, with a two-week global haul of $143.1 million.

Next weekend, Warner Bros.’ “A Minecraft Movie,” is expected to win the weekend and will, like “Snow White,” target family audiences.

A trio of newcomers – A24’s “Death of a Unicorn,” Universal and Blumhouse’s “The Woman in the Yard,” and the Fathom’s “Chosen: The Last Supper” – also opened over the weekend, though none made a big impact.
“The Chosen: The Last Supper,” fared the best, with $11.5 million in 2,235 theaters. The Christian TV series, now in its fifth season, has regularly driven ticket sales before streaming. More episodes will roll out in theaters through April.
“Death of a Unicorn,” a horror comedy starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd, portrays a father and daughter who hit a unicorn on the road while they're driving. The movie collected a modest $5.8 million from 3,050 theaters.
The weekend’s more straightforward horror contender, Blumhouse’s “The Woman in the Yard,” starring Danielle Deadwyler, debuted with $9.4 million from 2,842 cinemas. In “Black Adam” director Jaume Collet-Serra’s film, a mysterious woman keeps appearing in a family’s front yard. Though it cost little to make, with a production budget of $12 million, it has been slammed by critics.
One of the weekend’s biggest successes was the 1997 Studio Ghibli classic “Princess Mononoke." The Hayo Miyazaki film grossed $4 million across just 347 IMAX screens. Distributor GKids touted that result as a victory for humanity over technology. Earlier in the week, a new version of ChatGPT allowed users to render images in Studio Ghibli-like animation.
Sony Pictures Classic’s “The Penguin Lesson,” starring Steve Coogan and Jonathan Pryce, opened with $1.2 million at 1,017 theaters. Coogan plays an Englishman teaching in Argentina in 1976 who rescues a penguin from an oil spill.
With flagging ticket sales overall, Hollywood marked the first quarter of 2025 with a sizeable box-office deficit. Sales are down 11% from the same point in 2024, and nearly 40% from 2019, according to Comscore.
“Hopefully ‘Minecraft’ can help the marketplace level up since after some underwhelming weekends at the box office we need to get some momentum back at the multiplex,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.