The 52-minute documentary tells the story of an Argentine tango group on its first trip to the Middle East and another music group, Dar Auniza, from the Kingdom. The two groups meet and share their music and although they do not understand each other’s language, each group has an impact on the other at the end.

Saudi director Hana Al-Omair completed the documentary in 2009 and it debuted at the Gulf Film Festival the same year.

Al-Omair told Arab News that writing, directing and producing film was part of her own self-exploration journey. Through the film she takes a look at different thoughts, feelings, behaviors and motivations and asks why. The most pressing question for Al-Omair was how would the Argentinian musicians portray Saudi folk music.

Through her film Al-Omair said she aimed to discover how foreign musicians view Saudi music and how they view Saudi culture through it.

When asked why she chose music as her connecting factor, Al-Omair said: “There is a saying that music is a universal language, but there is no clear proof of that.”

Therefore, through the film Al-Omair decided to test the universality of music. She explains in what manner Saudi Arabian folk music has been considerably neglected, though it appears throughout her film that this type of music can be a beautiful and influential representation of Saudi local culture.

“I wanted to show this aspect that has been completely ignored. Samaritan music is part of the heritage and culture of this country. It deserves to be given all the care and attention. Of course, as with other types of folk music, they all need to be given a larger platform than what is currently available to them.”

Al-Omair explained that she faced a great deal of difficulties making the film because the film required a huge production budget which she did not have access to. She financed the film herself with the help of her husband and friends.

She explained that access to a theater would have been more practical and suitable. She also faced plenty of technical difficulties due to the fact that one cannot easily find professionals in the field of filming, editing and sound engineering in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, this affected the technical level of the film in general.

She said: “This caused a significant problem. There are no institutes that specialize in the teaching of various jobs associated with filmmaking. People in this field self-learn through practice and experimentation. And of course, there is no financial backing or technical material support provided by the government sector or the private commercial sector.”

When asked how Saudi films can be watched by the local public, she responded: “The public can only watch these films through special views or festivals. It is unfortunate that Saudi filmmakers cannot communicate with the target audience of their stories.”

Currently Al-Omair is in the process of writing a script for another documentary. She didn’t reveal any details about her new idea but said: “All I can say is that it’s very far from the theme of the first film.”