What next for Neom after allegations of racism and misogyny against media executive?

Neom has been presented as a vision of the future, a $500bn megacity under construction in northwest Saudi Arabia that has spent five years positioning itself as production destination and industry hub for the Middle East and North Africa region.

However, the ambitious endeavour has been rocked by allegations that Neom’s managing director of media industries Wayne Borg has made racist and misogynistic comments, which were recorded, as well as engaging in inappropriate workplace behaviour.

According to The Wall Street Journal, after Borg was called into the office to discuss the deaths of three construction workers on the megacity, the executive said: “A whole bunch of people die so we’ve got to have a meeting on a Sunday night.”

He also reportedly called the project’s blue-collar workers from the Indian subcontinent “f–king morons” and added: “That is why white people are at the top of the pecking order.”

The WSJ also claimed that Borg was reprimanded earlier in his tenure at Neom for calling a Black female colleague a “Black shit”, which the executive denied. A recording heard by the WSJ said that Borg later referred to “that f—king episode I had with that Black bitch”.

The report highlighted further alleged incidents of inappropriate behaviour against other Neom executives, such as chief executive Nadhmi al-Nasr, but placed the most emphasis on the behaviour of Borg.

Screen has contacted representatives of Neom and Borg but no comment was received at time of publication. However, Neom issued a statement to the WSJ that said: “Any allegations of wrongdoing and misconduct are thoroughly investigated. If any wrongdoing is substantiated, we take appropriate action.”

Borg is a veteran of the international film and television business, having spent more than 30 years at studios including Warner Bros. and Fox in his native Australia as well as Universal Pictures.

Leading Neom’s media ambitions since 2019, he has travelled the world extolling the virtues of shooting at Neom, highlighting its 40%+ production cash rebate incentives that have drawn 38 local and international productions ranging from Rupert Wyatt’s $150m epic Desert Warrior, starring Anthony Mackie, to Rajkumar Hirani’s Bollywood blockbuster Dunki, starring Shah Rukh Khan, as well as Rise of The Witches, the region’s biggest-ever TV drama series.

Borg was a regular at the industry platforms of every major film festival, working with Screen International and publisher MBI as well as other trade publications to spread the word. The executive was at the Venice Film Festival just two weeks ago on the jury for the Final Cut programme for films in post-productions from Africa and Arab countries.

Trust and relationships will now need to be rebuilt. Screen understands that leading that charge will be Michael Lynch, a renowned arts and culture executive who has held the positions of CEO of Sydney Opera House, chief executive of London’s Southbank Centre and CEO of the Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. He joined Neom at the end of 2023 as entertainment and culture sector head.

Possibly ahead of appointing a more permanent replacement for Borg, if he does not remain in the position, Lynch may oversee upcoming international productions set to shoot at Neom including historical drama Antara from Con Air director Simon West, thriller Riverman by Terry George, an as-yet undisclosed Bollywood feature and several local productions including a 200-episode series entitled Piano.

There will also be an ongoing mission to convince an industry that may already have reservations about working and filming in Saudi Arabia. While Neom positions itself as a new jurisdiction with Saudi, with its own laws and regulations, the latest allegations will not have helped it cause.

They could spur Neom to work more closely with other areas of the Saudi film and TV industry including the highly regarded Film Commission, affiliated with the government’s Ministry of Culture, and Film AlUla, winner of the Emerging Location prize at this year’s Global Production Awards in Cannes that is fast establishing itself as a leading location for features, series, commercials and music videos.

Neom remains a highly enticing location complete with financial incentives, state-of-the-art studios and a growing network of production support. The job will now be to convince the industry that it can move beyond recent troubles and achieve its vision of the future without prejudice.