While Hollywood and Bollywood dominate as global movie industries, there is no doubt that making films is an international business. Every year, a number of incredible features are filmed in, and released by, different countries around the world.
This week, transcription site Amberscript.com has analysed the films made by, or in, 130 countries around the world, working out which have been the most highly rated in each, using their IMDb scores.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the US comes out on top, with 1994's The Shawshank Redemption, which scored a near-perfect 9.2 out of 10 on the film authority site. In joint second place are Bangladesh's Mirror Game (2016) and Kosovo's Zana (2019), both of which score 9.1.
The UK and Sri Lanka follow with The Dark Knight (2008) and Aloko Udapadi (2017), respectively, with a score of 9.
Countries were worked out using IMDb's search option, which enables users to filter film titles by country to see a list of all films produced, filmed or credited in that location.
Top ranked Middle Eastern films
Regionally, a number of films have been listed in the round-up of 130 countries.
Both Libya's Lion of the Desert (1981) and Lebanon's Capernaum (2018) are rated 8.4. Turkey's My Father and My Son (2005) scores 8.3, as does Iran's A Separation (2011).
Egypt is represented by The Message (1976) with 8.2 and Algeria's The Battle of Algiers (1966) scored 8.1.
Hollywood blockbuster The Martian (2015), starring Matt Damon, which was largely filmed in Wadi Rum, represents Jordan and scores 8, with Israel's Waltz with Bashir (2018) scoring the same.
The UAE is represented by 2015's Bilal: A New Breed of Hero, an English-language Arabic computer-animated action-adventure film, which scored 7.9. Saudi Arabia's Wadjda (2012), meanwhile, scores a respectable 7.5 and Palestine's Paradise Now (2005) scores 7.4.
The top 20 in full:
1. United States of America: The Shawshank Redemption – 9.2
= 2. Bangladesh: Mirror Game – 9.1
= 2. Kosovo: Zana – 9.1
= 4. United Kingdom: The Dark Knight – 9
= 4. Sri Lanka: Aloko Udapadi – 9
6. New Zealand: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – 8.9
= 7. Germany: Fight Club – 8.8
= 7. Italy: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – 8.8
= 9. Japan: Seven Samurai – 8.6
= 9. Canada: Interstellar – 8.6
= 9. South Korea: Parasite – 8.6
= 9. Brazil: City of God – 8.6
= 13. Malta: Gladiator – 8.5
= 13. France: Leon: The Professional – 8.5
= 13. Myanmar: Mudras Calling – 8.5
= 13. Norway: The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix – 8.5
= 13. Poland: The Pianist – 8.5
= 13. Ghana: Samsara – 8.5
= 19. Libya: Lion of the Desert – 8.4
= 19. India: 3 Idiots – 8.4
Films that represent countries around the world:
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
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