Saudi Film Commission Set to Launch Fourth Edition of Saudi Film Confex 2026

22:46-6 October 2026 AD ـ 24 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1448 AH

The fourth edition of Saudi Film Confex 2026 will be held on October 28 and 29 at JAX Film Studios in Riyadh under the patronage of Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Film Commission Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan.

Held under the supervision of the Saudi Film Commission and organized by Benchmark, the event will take place under the theme "Industry Shapers' Edition," bringing together film sector leaders, decision-makers, professionals, and industry specialists.

The new edition will continue the Confex's role as a key catalyst for advancing Saudi Arabia's film industry and expanding investment and partnership opportunities across this vital sector, in line with the National Culture Strategy under Saudi Vision 2030.

The Confex serves as a specialized business platform that brings together the full spectrum of the film ecosystem, from production and distribution companies and technical service providers to investment entities, financing funds, educational institutions, and relevant government bodies. It creates opportunities to forge partnerships, sign agreements and exchange expertise across the industry.

The 2026 edition will take the form of a focused, two-day industry event designed for film professionals and sector stakeholders. It will serve two principal groups: executives and decision-makers, including corporate leaders and representatives of government entities and nonprofit organizations active in the sector; and industry professionals and specialists, including producers, directors, screenwriters, production and distribution companies, and creative and technical service providers.

The program will feature a conference with panel discussions, an exhibition showcasing companies operating across the film sector, and specialized workshops. These activities will enable participants to exchange knowledge and expertise and connect with organizations and companies working throughout the industry.

The 2026 edition builds on the Confex's track record of tangible partnerships. Across its first three editions, 94 agreements were signed with a combined value exceeding SAR1 billion.

Through the Confex, the Saudi Film Commission reinforces Saudi Arabia's position as a regional hub for film industry development and support, contributing to the growth of a thriving Saudi film sector capable of competing regionally and globally.

Susan Saint James, Emmy-Winning Actor of ‘McMillan & Wife’ and ‘Kate & Allie,’ Dies at 80

Susan Saint James attends the SNL50: The Anniversary Special in New York on Feb. 16, 2025. (AP)

16:40-27 October 2026 AD ـ 16 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Susan Saint James, Emmy-Winning Actor of ‘McMillan & Wife’ and ‘Kate & Allie,’ Dies at 80

Susan Saint James attends the SNL50: The Anniversary Special in New York on Feb. 16, 2025. (AP)

Susan Saint James, who co-starred with Rock Hudson in the 1970s TV crime series “McMillan & Wife” and later co-starred with Jane Curtin in the sitcom “Kate & Allie” in the 1980s, has died. She was 80.

People magazine, citing a representative for the actor, said Saint James died Monday. She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“She never met a stranger," her family said in a statement to People. "Every person she met became the most important person in the room at that moment, from a fellow board member to the clerk at the shoe store, who usually walked away knowing her entire life story."

Born Susan Jane Miller on Aug. 14, 1946, in Los Angeles, she was raised in the northern Illinois city of Rockford, where her father had transferred for work. She began modeling as a teenager in Paris.

At 20, she moved back to Los Angeles and landed a seven-year contract with Universal Studios. She made her television debut in the 1966 movie “Fame is the Name of the Game” with Tony Franciosa.

She got another break when it became a series called “The Name of the Game” in 1968, with rotating lead characters played by Franciosa, Gene Barry and Robert Stack. Saint James provided the show continuity in her role as Peggy Maxwell, a research assistant who worked for all three men. She won an Emmy Award for the part in 1969.

Before “The Name of the Game,” Saint James had a recurring role in the crime-caper series “It Takes a Thief” starring Robert Wagner. Her other early TV credits included “Ironside," “McCloud” and “Alias Smith and Jones.” In 1980, she guest-starred in an episode of “M(asterisk)A(asterisk)S(asterisk)H.”

Saint James, known for her unique, throaty voice, had a supporting role in the 1968 movie “Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows” starring Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens.

She earned her biggest fame as Sally McMillan, the plucky wife of Hudson’s San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan, in the hit series “McMillan & Wife” from 1971-76. She received three Emmy nominations for the role.

Saint James left the NBC show before its sixth and final season because of a contract dispute, with her character killed off in a plane crash. Saint James then turned to feature films.

She played opposite Peter Fonda in “Outlaw Blues” in 1977. She co-starred with George Hamilton in the 1979 vampire spoof “Love at First Bite” and joined Jessica Lange and Curtin in the 1980 comedy heist “How to Beat the High Cost of Living.” She co-starred in the 1981 romantic comedy “Carbon Copy,” in which Denzel Washington made his movie debut.

After middling success on the big screen, Saint James reunited with Curtin in the CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie,” which ran from 1984-89 and earned Saint James two Emmy nominations as the free-spirited Kate to Curtin’s straight-laced Allie.

While guest-hosting “Saturday Night Live” in 1981, Saint James met Dick Ebersol, the show’s then-executive producer and the future chairman of NBC Sports. They married barely six weeks after meeting and had three sons, Charlie, Willie and Teddy.

Teddy died at age 14 in a 2004 private plane crash that also killed the pilot and flight attendant; Ebersol and Charlie survived with serious injuries.

Saint James filed for divorce from Ebersol in 2002, but they reconciled later that year. “We had a second chance,” she told People magazine in 2002. “I’m amazingly happier, so that’s a good sign.”

In his 2022 memoir “From Saturday Night to Sunday Night,” Ebersol called Saint James “the greatest partner I’ve ever had by far.”

She retired when “Kate & Allie” ended, choosing to focus on raising her younger children in Litchfield, Connecticut, while Ebersol took the executive job at NBC Sports.

Saint James made occasional guest appearances after that, including as the mother of her real-life look-alike niece Christa Miller on “The Drew Carey Show,” as well as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Suits.” In 1999, she starred in a production of “The Miracle Worker” in Torrington, Connecticut.

In 1998, Saint James, her sister, Mercedes Dewey, and a friend founded Seedling and Pip, a baby gift basket business with a focus on books based in Litchfield, Connecticut.

She was a longtime supporter of Special Olympics, volunteering and serving on its board of directors.

Besides her husband, she is survived by daughter Sunshine and son Harmony from her second marriage to makeup artist Tom Lucas, with whom she remained friends; sons Charlie and Willie with Ebersol; and Miller, whose first TV role was on “Kate & Allie.” Saint James’ first marriage to Richard Neubert ended in divorce.

Entertainment

Dutch Broadcaster Pulls Out of Eurovision Over Israel ‘Sensitivities’

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 logo is displayed on a screen at the end of the dress rehearsal for the second semi-final, Basel, Switzerland, May 14, 2025. (AFP)

09:43-27 October 2026 AD ـ 16 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Dutch Broadcaster Pulls Out of Eurovision Over Israel ‘Sensitivities’

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 logo is displayed on a screen at the end of the dress rehearsal for the second semi-final, Basel, Switzerland, May 14, 2025. (AFP)

The Netherlands will not participate in next year's Eurovision Song Contest, its broadcaster NPO said Tuesday, citing "sensitivities" over Israel's participation.

"We have known for some time that Israel's participation elicits various reactions in society and causes discussion and division... therefore, after consultation with the Board of Broadcasters, the NPO has decided to forgo participation in 2027," Jurre Bosman, NPO's media director, said in a statement.

Jet de Ranitz, NPO's executive chairman, acknowledged this would disappoint many Dutch Eurovision fans and stressed that the contest would still be aired on the public channels.

However, he said: "We must conclude that it is currently too early to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027."

"Due to the sensitivities surrounding the themes currently at play, we have decided to take a step back for the time being," added De Ranitz.

The contest has recently been hit by a wave of boycotts over Israel's participation, in protest at the country's deadly offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas attacks in 2023.

Earlier this month, the Czech public broadcaster also pulled out, but cited spending cuts as the reason.

Ireland has already announced it will not be taking part, while the head of the Spanish public broadcaster has come out in favor of a boycott.

Entertainment

Macklemore Vows to Fight Until ‘Last Breath’ at Opening of ‘Free Palestine’ Tour

Macklemore in Paris in July 2025. (Getty Images)

09:04-27 October 2026 AD ـ 16 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Macklemore Vows to Fight Until ‘Last Breath’ at Opening of ‘Free Palestine’ Tour

Macklemore in Paris in July 2025. (Getty Images)

American rapper Macklemore vowed to continue to speak out loudly against Israel's war in Gaza at the opening of his "Free Palestine" concert tour organized after he was dropped as the opening act for Ed Sheeran over pro-Palestinian remarks.

The Grammy-winning rapper received a deafening ovation in Dublin, where fans in the overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian country came draped in Palestinian flags, black, red and green football jerseys and keffiyeh scarves being sold by vendors outside.

"I am proud to stand here on stage in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We will continue to fight for ‌collective liberation until our ‌last breath," Macklemore said on stage, where he waved ‌a ⁠Palestinian flag for ⁠much of his set.

"Six weeks ago, two words is all that it took," he said, referring to the rallying cry of "Free Palestine" and his criticism of the Israeli government's actions in Gaza and the West Bank at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium that led to his removal from Sheeran's US tour.

"Those two words are so threatening to some people that we'd rather silence those ⁠two words than confront what they actually mean... Somehow those ‌words have become more controversial than the ‌suffering that made them necessary."

The crowd, who snapped up the 13,000 tickets for ‌Dublin's 3Arena within minutes, chanted "Free Free Palestine" throughout.

"We need a speaker for ‌our time. It has to be somebody like that who can reach out to people. He made it feel so alive and I've come out feeling I want to be part of something," said Siobhan Lyons from Dublin, who attended the ‌concert with her daughter.

Irish artists who have spoken out against Israel's actions played in support on Monday, including "Take Me ⁠to Church" singer ⁠Hozier, rap group Kneecap and Beoga, one of the acts who quit Sheeran's tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

Palestinian singer Lina Makhoul and Palestinian American DJ Habibeats also performed and pro-Palestine activists, such as Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, spoke between sets.

Sheeran, one of the world's top-selling recording artists, said stadium owners on the remaining dates threatened to bar any further shows with Macklemore on the bill.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials deny their actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

The "Free Palestine" tour will continue in Paris and London this week with US dates due to be announced later, Macklemore has said.

Saudi Film Commission Set to Launch Fourth Edition of Saudi Film Confex 2026

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Susan Saint James, Emmy-Winning Actor of ‘McMillan & Wife’ and ‘Kate & Allie,’ Dies at 80

Dutch Broadcaster Pulls Out of Eurovision Over Israel ‘Sensitivities’

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