Ali Omar, a young Saudi from Alkhobar, said he used to go to Bahrain from across the King Fahd Causeway every two weeks to watch the latest movies in cinemas. “It only takes half an hour to reach Bahrain and it used to be quite a lot of fun,” he said.
Omar said Bahrain has many cinemas that show the latest American, European and Arab movies. “As it is not possible for me to watch these films in my country due to the absence of cinemas, I travel to Bahrain where there is a large number of cinemas,” he said. “When I get to the cinemas, I see a lot of Saudis who are there for the same reason,” he added.
Although there are no cinemas in the Kingdom, several film festivals are often held in the country. The most recent was the 4th Annual Asian Film Festival that kicked off in Jeddah on Wednesday and will continue for two weeks. The festival has been organized by the Asian Consulates General Club of 13 Asian countries.
Another annual festival is the European Film Festival organized every year by a European country. The films are shown at the Italian Cultural Center in Jeddah. African countries have also picked up on the idea and are working on launching an African film festival.
Abdullah Zuhair, who works for a private tourist company in Dammam, said one of the setbacks to domestic Saudi tourism is the absence of cinemas in the country. “The film festivals organized by European, Asian and African countries may not be to the taste of Saudi viewers who are used to watching American action films and Arab movies,” he said.
Mayor of Riyadh Abdul Aziz bin Ayyaf, who is also chairman of the Tourism Development Board, said the city is in urgent need of such cinemas that can be properly controlled. He denied that the municipality has carried out a study in this regard. The mayor said the municipality organizes plays during the Eid holidays and during some weekends. “The private sector has currently organized a play at the King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh. Cooperation between the municipality, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the General Presidency of Youth Welfare and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry will further boost theatrical activities in the city,” he said.
