Saudi society on screen

how we live — By Bob Riel on April 28, 2006 at 4:53 pm

It’s not every day that a big budget film is produced in a country where movie theaters are still considered illegal (because it promotes the mixing of the sexes). But that is exactly what is happening in Saudi Arabia, with a new movie by Saudi producers examining the conflict within a family when a young girl is torn between career dreams and household expectations. Prince Walid bin Talal, who owns the production company, says:

“I am correcting a big mistake, that is all,” said Prince Walid, sitting in his office high above Riyadh. “I want to tell Arab youth: You deserve to be entertained, you have the right to watch movies, you have the right to listen to music.”

And the cultural struggle that is depicted in the movie?

“The struggle within the different elements of Saudi society today is almost as strong as that between America and the Arab world,” said Ayman S. Halawani, the producer. “Many families have moderates and extremists. … And we want to show the struggle that happens within.”

The producers hope to show the movie to Saudis elsewhere in the Arab world, as well as in European film festivals.