Cinema passion in Saudi Arabia transcends

CAIRO – 10 September 2017: When Saudi cinemas are mentioned in a certain conversation, a number of thoughts come to our minds.

The rhetoric of an ambitious Saudi cinema scene has always been doubtful due to the strict conservative ruling system in Saudi Arabia resulting in a lack of artistic productions in cinema.

Egyptian, Moroccan, Lebanese, and Arabic films in general, in addition to American films attract Saudi youth to the magic of the seventh art.

A number of independent production companies target establishing a national/local Saudi cinema. Saudi films depend on online platforms like YouTube to promote their works.

One of the independent companies, Cinema Akil, is a Cinema platform in Dubai. Cinema Akil has screened three short films to the audience; one of them is called "Wasati" by Ali Kalthami.

It is worth mentioning that "Wasati" was the opening film at 2017 Saudi Arabia Film Festival, and it is considered an important stage in Saudi because it was the first movie to be funded by the state, as it was funded by Abdel Aziz Center for World Culture.
Another company that spread a number of cinema material through YouTube is Telvaz11 founded by Kalthami.


Moving to long movies, Saudi Arabia witnessed three successful experiences: “Kaif el-Hal” (How’s it going?) (2006), “Wadjda” (2012), and “Barakah Yoqabel Barakah” (Baraka meets Baraka) (2017).


“Kaif el-Hal” was the first Saudi film produced with a huge budget in 2006. It was also the first film that screened in cinemas.

“Kaif el-Hal” was directed by Izidore Musallam and Haifaa al-Mansour, and produced by Rotana. It starred Hisham Abdul Rahman, Hind Mohamed and Mais Hemdan.

The film tackled a number of daring themes to Saudi culture, such as love, gender and Saudi traditions, which ended up with the film being banned in Saudi Arabia.

The second successful experience was “Wadjda”, which is considered the brightest experience in the history of Saudi cinema. Released in 2012, it was the first Saudi movie to be filmed in Saudi Arabia, and it was also the first Saudi film to be nominated for an Oscar in 2013. The movie tackled the issue of gender differences in Saudi society.

Directed and written by Haifaa al-Mansour, Wadjda starred Waad Mohamed, Reem Abdullah, and Abdul Rahman al-Gohani.

Finally, “Baraka Yoqabel Baraka” (2016) is the second Saudi film to be nominated for an Oscar in 2017.

“Baraka Yoqabel Baraka” discussed in a comic dramatic manner a love story between a boy and a girl of two different social classes.

It was directed and written by Mahmoud al-Sabbagh and starred Hisham Fageeh, Fatima al-Banawi and Sami Hifny.

Four years ago, Saudi Arabia witnessed the first edition of Saudi Arabia Film Festival.

It is worth mentioning that more than 50 films participated in this year's edition, and the festival honoured Saad Khedr for his artistic efforts.

Six workshops were provided and a number of film screenings were organized for School students.

Saudi cinema manages to find a remarkable place for itself on the international map despite all the challenges it faces.