The Gulf cinema industry has made great strides in the last few years, especially with the inauguration of the Gulf Film Festival (GFF) in 2008 which provided an opportunity for Gulf cinema stars and filmmakers to showcase their films and discuss the future and the challenges of their profession. In its call for the submission of films to this year's festival, GFF 2009 received an overwhelming response from Gulf countries and from around the world. Saudi Arabia topped the list with 63 film titles out of 212 from across the Gulf region, Masoud Amralla Al-Ali, director of the GFF, told the Saudi Gazette in an exclusive interview. Films from outside the Gulf region will be considered for the Out of Competition segments of the festival. With an industry platform in place, there are more than glimmers of hope for the future of the cinema industry in Saudi Arabia with the emergence of many promising film producers and talented actors and actresses. Cinema, ironically, is still banned in the country despite a few recent showings of the feature movie Menahi in major cities in the Kingdom. The opening of cinemas in Saudi Arabia is going to boost the local economy as the Saudi market has at least 18 million potential movie-goers, Al-Ali said. “The revenues could be staggering for studio financing,” he added. Recent Saudi films are merely signs of the birth of cinema in the Kingdom, he said. “It took seven years in the UAE before we were able to see a movie and four major film festivals,” he added. “Since 2006, momentum has been growing for the creation of a fully fledged film industry in Saudi Arabia which is evident from the overwhelming Saudi response to the second GFF,” said Al-Ali. With the development of a mature Gulf cinema industry and the emergence of talented Gulf directors, producers, actors and actresses, there are hopes that the world will be able to see the true image of the region at a time when there is an increasing distortion of the Arab image in Hollywood, he said. Many film critics believe that there is a need for movies made in the region which authentically describe the reality of modern, civil society in the Gulf in order to counter the hateful and vilifying stereotypes which were embodied in a series of movies, even before 9/11. Those movies focus on a few stock caricatures and images which portray Arabs and Muslims as members of a lunatic fringe. Movies which distort the Arab image, such as, “The President's Man: A Line in the Sand,” starring Chuck Norris and featuring swarthy-looking Arab Muslims who try to set off a nuclear bomb in Texas, need to be replied to with movies which come from the region, critics say. These distorted images have a profound impact on Arabs everywhere in the world and the best remedy, Al-Ali said, is to reply with effective, regional movies. The movie industry in the Gulf, however, is in its early stages and is still finding its place in the 110-year history of cinema, he said. However, over the last six years, he added, “the region has seen giant leaps in the industry.” “There is an ever-increasing number of movies, especially from Saudi Arabia, tacking serious social issues which give these movies more credibility,” he said. Released in 2006 and directed by Abdullah Al-Muheisen, the Saudi feature film “Shadow of Silence,” a psychological thriller which dares to take on issues of political and intellectual repression in the Middle East, has taken Saudi cinema to new heights in terms of featuring local issues, he added. Many Saudi movies, especially those submitted for the second GFF, have followed suit with a good margin of freedom of expression, Al-Ali said. “The cinema contributes to consolidating one's identity as a tool of expression,” said Al-Muheisen during the first Communication Technology and Social Change Conference, recently organized by the Media Department at the College of Arts at King Saud University. And this is just the beginning with positive indications of a new and promising era for the movie industry in the Gulf, Al
