Saudi Gazette has an article putting forward the hopeful belief that Saudi cinema is about to be launched with great success. The piece notes the development of the film industry in the Gulf and that Saudi submissions represented the highest number submitted to the latest Gulf Film Festival.

The piece goes awry, I think, when it adopts a defensive attitude over films like “The President’s Man: A Line in the Sand,” which carries a negative stereotype of Arabs. This was a TV movie! No one watches TV movies and even fewer take them seriously. This particular one—released in 2002, which means it likely started production in 2000—was a Chuck Norris, martial arts vehicle, something that only teenage boys and girls find enthralling.

Promising future for Saudi film industry
Abdullah Al-Bargi

JEDDAH – The Gulf cinema industry has made great strides in the last few years, especially with the inauguration of the Gulf Film Festival (GFF) in 2008 which provided an opportunity for Gulf cinema stars and filmmakers to showcase their films and discuss the future and the challenges of their profession.

In its call for the submission of films to this year’s festival, GFF 2009 received an overwhelming response from Gulf countries and from around the world. Saudi Arabia topped the list with 63 film titles out of 212 from across the Gulf region, Masoud Amralla Al-Ali, director of the GFF, told the Saudi Gazette in an exclusive interview. Films from outside the Gulf region will be considered for the Out of Competition segments of the festival.

With an industry platform in place, there are more than glimmers of hope for the future of the cinema industry in Saudi Arabia with the emergence of many promising film producers and talented actors and actresses. Cinema, ironically, is still banned in the country despite a few recent showings of the feature movie Menahi in major cities in the Kingdom.
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