Cinemas may be illegal in Saudi Arabia, but that didn't stop the Second Saudi Film Festival from opening this past Friday, with 60 short films competing for Golden Palm Tree trophies. The last time the festival was held was seven years ago. According to Arab News, the majority of the filmmakers presenting their work are also under the age of 25.
To get around the inconvenience of the cinema ban, the festival will take place at an art center in Dammam, a city along the Gulf coast. Organizers are also reportedly hopeful that the festival will help to raise awareness about the positive power of film, especially for the more conservative sectors of society that fear cinema and film as a Westernizing influence.
Filmmaker and head of the festival Abdullah al-Eyaf responded to such concerns saying, "I think we in Saudi Arabia have beautiful culture to tell the world."
"Why should we wait for this country or that country ... to tell stories about Saudi Arabia?"
The kingdom's first female filmmaker, Haifaa Al-Mansour, was invited to attend the event but as she lives abroad, she was not expected to attend. Her 2013 film Wadjda was the first Saudi film to be nominated for a foreign-language Oscar, although it did not win or make the short-list.
Regardless of her non-attendance, her film's success, which centers around a young rebellious Saudi girl who dreams of owning a bicycle, can serve as inspiration to the young filmmakers competing in the five-day festival.
The event is also meant to inspire and professionally develop young filmmakers through scriptwriting and production seminars as well as lectures by industry professionals from around the region. However, without cinemas, the burgeoning filmmaking dreams of these young professionals will be somewhat dampened.
Currently there is just no convenient way of distributing films for large-scale distribution and screening within the kingdom. Many filmmakers do, however, distribute their films online through sites like YouTube or on DVDs. Yet the system for massive public viewing simply does not exist, as Eyaf lamented.
Despite the difficulties, over 120 films were submitted to the festival with 66 meeting the criteria to compete and be screened. Approximately $48,000 in grants for funding future projects will be distributed to the winning filmmakers.