Saudi Arabia has been stepping up its game with a burgeoning local film and culture scene over the last few years. Now, a group of Saudi filmmakers are about to get their red carpet premiere in the film world's capital.
In a first-of-its-kind event, Saudi Film Days will expose and celebrate some of the kingdom's top creative and young talent. Hosted by The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, the event will take place between Nov. 3 to 4.
"We have several, young Saudi filmmakers who have started their career in the digital space and are looking for that next step, looking to get eyes on their content so they can continue to develop new projects and work alongside other filmmakers in the U.S. to bring recognition and visibility to their work and to their home country," Albara Auhaly, King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, said according to a press release .
The first night will be an invite-only red carpet private screening at Paramount Studios, giving the young filmmakers a chance to brush shoulders with top Hollywood professionals, including actors, directors, producers and executives. On the second night, the public will be invited to a free curated short-film screening series, with the filmmakers in attendance.
"As a minority in the film industry, I know first-hand how difficult this business can be, especially for independent filmmakers," Saudi filmmaker Ali Alsumaiyn said. "I am honored to be working with Saudi Film Days on such an amazing initiative."
"Filmmaking has a measureable impact on society and culture as a whole. A goal of Saudi Film Days is to build a viable platform for the discovery of Saudi filmmaking talent," filmmaker Bader Al Homoud said.
There are no cinemas in Saudi Arabia, but a burgeoning film scene has been developing over the last few years due to social media and initiatives such as the Saudi Film Festival . Saudi Arabia has also officially nominated two films to represent the kingdom in the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category: Haifaa Al Mansour’s "Wadjda" in 2014 and Mahmoud Sabbagh 's “ Barakah Meets Barakah ” this year.
Expanding Saudi Arabia's entertainment and cultural sector has been listed as an integral part of the kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030.
Filmmakers presenting their short movies at Saudi Film Days include Tareq Yosef ("A Photographic Memory"), Faisal Al-Otaibi ("Al Qatt"), Ali Alsumayin ("I Can’t Kiss My Face"), Meshal Aljaser ("Is Sumyati Going to Hell?"), Abdulaziz Alshalahi ("Oud"), Bader Al Homoud ("The Bliss of Being No One") and Ali Alkalthami ("The Happy Bus").