RIYADH, 4 February 2007 — Saudi actor Abdul Mohsen Al-Namir is unhappy about the plight of Saudi artists who get little exposure on the Kingdom’s television channels. He says that most Saudi talent is being forced to try their luck elsewhere, Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted the actor as saying.
Al-Namir shot to international fame as the hero in the film “Zilal Al-Somt,” which was featured in film festivals in Rome, Cannes and Rotterdam during the past few years. In addition, “Zilal Al-Somt” was the only Saudi film at the Dubai International Film Festival; it was also shown at the Tunisian film festival.
Protesting the slow pace at which the film industry is growing in the Kingdom, Al-Namir wants to see more Saudi films made such as “Majadef Al-Amal” and “Abu Shalakh Al-Burmai” which were received warmly by viewers outside Saudi Arabia. He is currently working on a Kuwaiti serial “Abna Al-Sindbad” (Sons of Sinbad), which focuses on adventurous Arab traders who went to distant lands in search of new markets for their goods. The series will be shot in Kuwait, Zanzibar, Yemen and Oman. He also plans to act in a new Kuwaiti widescreen film, he told Al-Watan newspaper yesterday.
