Saudi Arabia has previously been depicted in numerous movies while the actual shooting location for those was, in fact, Jordan, Morocco, and the UAE.
However, there have been a handful of movies that were really filmed in the kingdom and some of them are pretty famous as well.
Here are five movies that were shot in Saudi Arabia:
1. Journey to Mecca: In the footsteps of Ibn Battuta (2009)
Made for the giant IMAX screen, the film covers a portion of the life of Islamic scholar and explorer Ibn Battuta. It covers his Hajj journey starting from his native Morocco to Mecca in 1325 AD.
The movie had a sizable budget of $13 million and won Le Prix Du Public Most Popular Film at the 2009 Le Géode Film Festival in Paris along with other awards.
2. Barakah Meets Barakah (2016)
Shot entirely in Jeddah, the award-winning comedy-drama covers a Saudi love story between a middle-class man and a woman from a wealthy family.
The film was Saudi Arabia’s official entry to the 2017 Oscars.
3. Malcolm X (1992)
The hugely popular Hollywood movie was the first non-documentary movie that was given permission to be filmed in Mecca. The movie covers Malcolm X's journey and was principally filmed in America.
The portions shot in Saudi Arabia are when the main character takes part in the Hajj. Today, the movie is considered one of the greatest screen biographies and among the best films of the 90s.
4. Le Grand Voyage (2004)
The film has an interesting plot of a father taking his thoroughly westernized son to Hajj by car. On the road trip, they pass through a number of countries before finally reaching Saudi Arabia.
Le Grand Voyage is believed to be the first fiction film to be given permission to be shot in Mecca. The movie won the Golden Astor for Best Film at the 2005 Mar del Plata International Film Festival.
5. Wadjda (2012)
This was the first feature film to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and by a woman, Haifaa Al Mansour.
Wadjda won numerous awards at international film festivals and was the first Saudi Arabian entry for the Oscars but didn't get nominated.
It did, however, manage to get nominated for a BAFTA for Best Foreign Film and other festivals.