USF alum is preserving Saudi history through film

Abdullah Alabdullah's career is focused on building the future through documenting the past. From his contributions to the construction of a cultural center in Saudi Arabia to leading the National Film Archive of Saudi Arabia, Alabdullah has put his USF MBA to use in creative ways. 

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Saudi Arabia at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Alabdullah began his career at Saudi Aramco working in the new business development and then a year later joined, Ithra, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in 2011. “The Centre was built from scratch,” Alabdullah notes. “Back then, we didn’t have any cultural centers of such nature and magnitude.”  
 
To learn more about the business side of museums, Alabdullah participated in an internship with Smithsonian Enterprises, the professional management arm of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C. During his program, Alabdullah learned that he was admitted to USF to pursue an MBA.

“The interesting part was doing 12 hours of electives in sports and entertainment management,” Alabdullah said. “It was the best part of being at USF.” Alabdullah took classes in what was to become the Vinik Sport and Entertainment Management Program. “It was very hands on,” Alabdullah said, adding among his projects were developing projects for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Pirates. 
 

After graduating from USF, Alabdullah returned to the cultural center.  “I was assigned to continue the development of the library and archive,” Alabdullah said. “We developed everything from scratch.” 

Aramco has funded the project as a major public initiative yet as a cultural project it’s outside of their core business of oil.  “We are a port of an energy company that is trying to talk cultural language and arts, which was really different from what the company is used to,” Alabdullah said, who also spent two years in London to running the public affairs office of Aramco Overseas Company, an affiliate. 
 

In 2021, Alabdullah joined the National Film Archive after working for the Ministry of Economy and Planning in Saudi Arabia. “Our objective is to build an archive that helps the film community and provide filmmakers with reference points to the social history of Saudi Arabia,” Alabdullah said. “Eventually, we hope to have become a destination for cinephiles and the local film community.”

Alabdullah has a passion for the preservation of audiovisuals, specifically of those that come from Saudi homes. “There are family collections that document how we live and how we have lived over the years,” Alabdullah said. “And it’s frighting that these could be lost if they aren’t taken care of as soon as possible.”

“Preserving our history is a noble mission, both as proud Saudis and as humans in general,” he added.