JEDDAH: The Jeddah Film Festival that was scheduled to open Saturday at King Abdul Aziz Cultural Center was canceled at the eleventh hour, literally.

Mamdouh Salem, director of the Jeddah Film Festival, confirmed the cancellation, saying that he received an official notice from the Jeddah governorate at 11 p.m. on Friday ordering the festival canceled and leaving many attendees who had already arrived at a loss of words.

Salem, who put the total cost of the festival at around SR200,000, said the cancellation came at the last moment just when everything was ready. The adjudicating panel, which consists of Omani director Khaled Al-Zajali, UAE writer Khaled Al-Bodour, Saudi producer Majdi Wadou and writer Halema Muzafar, had already started their work early Friday.

The official explanation from the Jeddah municipality was that the festival “lacked preparations,” according to municipality spokesman Ahmad Al-Ghamdi. He did not elaborate. Calls made to Rotana Studios, the official sponsor of the event, went unanswered.

More than 50 directors from Gulf countries and a number of other personalities invited by Rotana Studios had arrived for the inauguration of the festival.

“I’m sorry that they came all this way only for the event to be canceled,” said Salem, adding that he was trying to get a clear explanation for the cancellation from the concerned authorities.

Seventy-one films from GCC countries, including a maiden entry from Yemen and 15 short European films, were to be screened publicly, according to Salem. The festival was going to give a number of awards.

The festival’s director underscored the fact that the entire festival “was under supervision” in accordance with the country’s media regulations, “with the event only trying to present cinema in a positive way.” Salem said a possible reason for the cancellation could be this was the first year the festival emphasized that it was showing films. “When it first started in 2006, organizers consciously called it the ‘Visual Exhibition Festival’ in order to avoid a backlash from conservative groups,” he said. “If it had remained under the old name ‘Visual Festival Exhibition’ then maybe this would not have happened.”

Salem said he made an effort to feature films that portray a positive image of Islam and to include films produced by conservative-minded people.

“We see Al-Majd TV entered the festival with the movie ‘Eyes With No Sleep,’ which includes no music or actresses,” he said.

Fahd Al-Osta, Saudi movie director and critic, termed the cancellation a “disappointment.”

“The decision (to cancel the festival) came as a surprise to those who are familiar with Saudi society, which has already accepted the concept of cinema,” he said. “Canceling the festival on the day of its opening is shocking and it will affect future activities even if they are under government sponsorship.”

Al-Osta said the Saudi cinema movement had positively affected local movie production, both in quantity and quality. In April, Saudi director Waleed Othman won second place for “The Revenge” in the Second Gulf Film Festival in Dubai.

He said that the festival, despite disagreements between moviemakers about form and presentation, managed to create cinematic ambience while providing a gathering place for participants from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

The film festival would have encouraged investors to invest in opening cinema theaters in the future, Al-Osta said, adding that the decision “would now push their efforts 10 steps backward.”