![]() ![]() The film sums up the paradoxical situation of Saudi media professionals at the moment: torn between the conservative lifestyle inside the Kingdom and the liberal environment of the Saudi-financed transnational media outside the Kingdom. In 2008, Rotana produced the second feature film, Menahi, which tells the story of a young Saudi man of Bedouin origin who travels to Dubai and faces a series of funny situations due to the difference of lifestyle. The conservative Kingdom launched the first Saudi Film Festival in 2006, entitled “Jeddah Visual Productions.” A year later, the Saudi Ministry of Culture kicked off a contest encouraging Saudi youths to enter the film field and form their own film society. The first Saudi production was Zelal Assamt (2006), followed by the film Keif al Hal. In 2005, the Kingdom saw the opening of the first movie theatre in Riyadh, followed by the release of a couple of Saudi films with Saudi actors. This comes after more than two decades of suppression by conservative Islamist groups who prohibited film screenings to Saudi citizens. Even Saudi film production has revived recently, following the move of Saudi Television empires such as Rotana and ART to cinematic production.
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