Cinema of Saudi Arabia

The cinema of Saudi Arabia is a fairly small industry that only produces a few feature films and documentaries every year.

With the exception of one IMAX theater in Khobar there are no cinemas in Saudi Arabia, although there is occasionally talk of opening movie theaters, and in 2008 conference rooms were rented to show the comedy Mennahi. Many Saudis watch films via satellite, DVD, or video.

Keif al-Hal?, released in 2006, was billed as Saudi Arabia's first film; however, it was shot in the United Arab Emirates and the lead female was played by a Jordanian. The 2012 film Wadjda had an all-Saudi cast and was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia. The film Barakah Yoqabil Barakah by director Mahmoud Sabbagh was shot in Jeddah in 2015, premiered first the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, making it the first feature film to participate in the festival.

Keif al-Hal? triggered a debate on the country's stance on cinemas and films. The documentary short film directed by Abdullah Al-Eyaf called Cinema 500 km discussed the issue of banning movie theaters and the film forced the media to take up the issue and discuss it. Wadjda was selected as the Saudi Arabian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards - the first time the country made a submission for the Oscars - but it was not nominated. It successfully earned a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the 2014 BAFTA Awards.

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Wikipedia