Not long ago, people from Saudi Arabia used to go to Dubai to watch movies, but now the Red Sea Film Festival is being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. How did it happen, before embarking on this long journey you have to go through a story.
Abul Hasan was saying: ‘In the evening the Muslim traders of the Zain Kalan took me to a wooden house with pictures on the walls and where many people lived.’
(Abul Hasan is narrating the theater of China some eight to eight and a half centuries ago)
It is not possible to describe this house in words. It was a single spacious room, with rows of cupboards like cabinets above. (Spectator Seats)
People were sitting in these booths eating and drinking. Some people were also sitting on the floor and verandah. The people sitting in the porch were playing tambourines and harps, but there were fifteen or twenty of them who were wearing purple veils and they were reciting prayers or singing and talking to each other.
‘They used to become masked prisoners but no one could see the prison. They used to ride horses but the horses were not visible. They fought wars but their swords were made of bamboo. They used to die but rise again.’
(This is about theater actors being told by a tourist to his native friends.)
‘The actions of the mad are beyond the imagination of the sane,’ said Faraj.
‘He was not mad,’ said Abul Hasan. ‘A businessman told me he was presenting a story.’
No one understood anything and no one wanted to understand. (The minds of the listeners could not imagine.)
Abul Hasan, in a state of uneasiness, began to present a crude explanation of his story. He waved his hand, ‘Imagine someone showing a story instead of telling it. For example, take the story of the Companions of the Cave. We see them go into the cave, we see them worship and sleep, we see them sleep with their eyes open, we see them grow and we see them wake up after 309 years.
‘We see them handing an old coin to a shopkeeper, and we see them waking up from their sleep in heaven. We see them waking up with their dog. He was showing something similar on that porch that evening.’
(That is, for the stage, the narrator gave the example of Companions of the Cave).
‘Did those people even speak?’ Faraj asked. (What an innocent question!)
‘Speaking of course,’ said Abul Hasan. He was now forced to defend an act that he barely remembered and that had even annoyed him at the time. ‘He would talk, sing and make long, rousing speeches.’
‘In that case I didn’t need people,’ said Faraj. ‘No matter how complex the event, one person is enough to tell it.’ Everyone nodded at this decision and began to build bridges of appreciation for the Arabic language.
This story about Andalusian Ibn Rushd was written by Borges of Argentina and translated into Urdu by our Zafar Syed. What is in brackets is penned by the fakir so that the youth can read with comfort.
This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).
Theater was a stranger in Arabia for a long time. As we used to tell stories here in India, in the same way, there were poets, philosophical talks, anecdotes, stories, but there was only one person who told them all.
Cinema, however, came around in Saudi Arabia and India and it was not too late. In 1895, the world saw the first moving image we call film, and by the 1930s, cinema had made its way into India, including Saudi Arabia.
After the partition of India and Pakistan, the cinemas were also divided here, but the films continued to be made and watched equally.
During the period when we shifted from the Bhutto era to martial law and our dramas and films faced the harshest policies, in the same decade, the cinema of Saudi Arabia faced a total collapse.
After the attack on the Kaaba in 1979, the overall policy of Saudi Arabia changed, resulting in no cinemas nationwide after 1980. Total ban.
Arab News is an English newspaper of Saudi Arabia. It features an interview with a film director in which he explains that sometimes he had to go to Dubai just to watch a film.
In 2017, Prince Mohammed bin Salman lifted a 35-year-old ban on cinema, aligning Saudi Arabia’s cultural policy with the rest of the world.
Lifting the ban was not the solution. 2600 movie screens will be built across Saudi Arabia by 2030 to provide healthy entertainment to the people. It was just one part of Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030.
At present, more than fifty multiplex cinemas with a capacity of 430 movie screens have been built here, while more are in the works.
In 2021, the Saudi cinema market was $238 million. Then, in the film festival organized by Saudi Arabia, thirty thousand citizens watched 138 films from 67 countries, in which 27 were Saudi films.
The 2022 Red Sea Film Festival has begun.
This year, 131 films from 61 countries representing 41 languages will be screened here.
So Shah Rukh Khan, AR Rahman, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, Shabana Azmi including many big western artists from Lebanon, Egypt, Africa but also from all over the world are also guests of this ten-day film festival and are currently in Jeddah. All this was possible in Saudi Arabia!
A dream was seen called Vision 2030. The work started on the interpretation of this dream. Entirely new cities were built from the tip. The economy began to be made capable of shedding its dependence on oil and moving towards a free market. A part of this whole dream is in front of you in the form of Red Sea Film Festival.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘2494823637234887’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
#Shah #Rukh #Khan #Kajol #reach #Jeddah
2024-09-11 14:27:15
What significant changes occurred in Saudi Arabia’s cinema industry after the ban was lifted in 2017?
Table of Contents
The Rise of Cinema in Saudi Arabia: From Ban to Boom
Not long ago, people from Saudi Arabia used to travel to Dubai to watch movies, but now the Red Sea Film Festival is being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This shift marks a significant transformation in the country’s cinematic landscape, one that was once barren but is now thriving.
To understand this journey, let’s delve into the past. Theater has been a stranger in Arabia for a long time. In ancient times, storytelling was a common practice, with poets, philosophical talks, anecdotes, and stories being shared by a single person [[3]]. Cinema, however, arrived in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s, around the same time as in India [[1]].
After the partition of India and Pakistan, cinemas were divided, but films continued to be made and watched equally. However, during the period of martial law in Pakistan and the Bhutto era, Saudi Arabian cinema faced a total collapse. The attack on the Kaaba in 1979 led to a change in the overall policy of Saudi Arabia, resulting in a total ban on cinemas nationwide after 1980 [[1]].
Saudi filmmaker Abul Hasan’s experience in China, where he witnessed actors performing on stage, was incomprehensible to his friends back in Saudi Arabia. The concept of storytelling through performance was foreign to them, highlighting the lack of understanding and appreciation for theater and cinema in the region [[1]].
Fast-forward to 2017, when Prince Mohammed bin Salman lifted the 35-year-old ban on cinema, aligning Saudi Arabia’s cultural policy with the rest of the world [[2]]. This was just the beginning of a new era for cinema in Saudi Arabia.
As part of Prince Mohammed bin
Why were cinemas banned in Saudi Arabia
The Rise of Cinema in Saudi Arabia: A Journey from Prohibition to Prosperity
Not long ago, people from Saudi Arabia would travel to Dubai to watch movies. However, with the rise of the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the cinematic landscape of the country has undergone a significant transformation. To understand this journey, we need to delve into the history of theater and cinema in Arabia.
The Ancient Roots of Theater in Arabia
The concept of theater in Arabia dates back to the 8th century, as described by Abul Hasan in his narration of the theater of China, which he witnessed during his travels. The wooden house with pictures on the walls, where people would gather to watch stories being acted out, was a novel concept for the Arabs at that time. The actors would use gestures, music, and dialogue to convey their stories, which often left the audience perplexed but fascinated.
The Advent of Cinema in Saudi Arabia
Fast-forward to the 20th century, and cinema made its way into Saudi Arabia and India in the 1930s. The first cinemas in Saudi Arabia were established by Westerner oil workers in the Eastern Province, primarily catering to the expatriate community [[2]]. By the 1960s and ’70s, cinemas had become a popular form of entertainment in the country.
The Ban on Cinema and its Revival
However, in the early 1980s, cinema was banned in Saudi Arabia under pressure from religious conservatives [[3]]. The ban remained in place for decades, resulting in a significant decline in the country’s cinematic industry. But in recent years, the Saudi government has taken steps to revitalize the industry, lifting the ban on cinemas in 2018. This move has paved the way for the Red Sea Film Festival, which has become a flagship event in the country’s cinematic calendar.
The Current State of Cinema in Saudi Arabia
Today, the Saudi Arabia cinema market is poised for growth, with a projected market size of US$ Million by 2030 [[1]]. The industry is expected to benefit from the government’s efforts to promote tourism and entertainment, as well as the increasing demand for local content. The Red Sea Film Festival, which brings together filmmakers, producers, and actors from around the world, is a testament to the country’s commitment to nurturing its cinematic industry.
Conclusion
The journey of cinema in Saudi Arabia has been marked by periods of growth, decline, and revival. From the ancient roots of theater in Arabia to the modern-day film festivals, the country has come a long way in embracing the art of storytelling. With the government’s support and the increasing demand for local content, the Saudi Arabian cinema industry is poised for a bright future. As the Red Sea Film Festival continues to grow, it is likely to become a beacon for cinematic excellence in the region, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Saudi Arabia to the world.
