JEDDAH, 13 December 2006 — A lack of an environment amenable to the development of the Saudi film industry was cited as one of the reasons why all Saudi-produced films were rejected for premiering at the Dubai International Film Festival, the Arabic daily Al-Watan reported yesterday.
Not even the film “Kaif Al-Hal?” was accepted, even though it has been spotlighted at European festivals over the past year.
“When I went through the list of films to be featured in the festival I realized that we will never be able to compete with them in the near future,” said Ali Al-Amir, the Saudi “Kaif Al-Hal?” director.
“Even the Palestinian films are far superior to our productions.”
Dismayed by the attitude of the Dubai festival organizers, a young Saudi director Raja Al-Mutairi said: “Unfortunately, the worst film in the festival is, no doubt, superior than any film produced in Saudi Arabia so far.”
One Saudi film, Abdullah Al-Mohaysen’s “Zilal Al-Somt” (Shadow of Silence) has however been accepted to be screened in the non-contest section of the festival.
Mishaal Al-Anazi, another Saudi director, said he never thought of participating in the Dubai festival because of the high festival standard set by its organizers. He stressed the need for starting a Saudi film institute to train people in acting and cinematography.