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Presenters / Actors of some of Uturn’s most famous programmes, posted on their Facebook Page in 2013. |
Restless tech-savvy youths with smartphones and cameras.
Regular readers of this blog should be familiar with that phrase by now, as I’ve used it to describe the founders of Uturn in my past posts. In fact, those who’ve read my last post will know that we’ve explained the ‘tech-savvy youths with smartphones and cameras’ part, such that we’ve established the following:
- Saudi Arabia’s largest population demographic constitutes young people, a category which appeals to online content viewership and engagement.
- The country boasts a significant percentage of smartphone and multi-platform social media penetration per capita.
Factors of which happen to drive the creation and distribution of online content within the country and the wider MENA region. This post however, aims to cover the ‘restless’ part i.e. the social aspect that helped drive the movement.
For starters, did you know that apart from the Imax cinema located in Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Science and Technology Centre (Scitech), of which mostly screens nature documentaries in the Eastern city of Khobar, (and a cinema in the Western King Abdullah Economic City (KEAC) that I’ve heard about but can’t find any real evidence for), there are no established cinemas in the Kingdom?
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| Scitech IMAX in Khobar, (source: Flikr) |
Moreover, did you know that in the 89 years of Saudi Arabia’s existence, only 3 1/2 full-length* feature films have been produced? These are:
1) Keif Al-Hal, 2006.
Officially hailed as the first Saudi film; Keif Al-Hal (AKA How Are You), a dramedy about balancing tradition with modernity, was shot in the UAE and produced by Rotana (the largest multi-media entertainment company in the Middle East). The film was screened in 17 international film festivals, neighbouring Arab cinemas such as Bahrain and Egypt, and was made available for Saudi audiences at the time of its release through a television subscription service.
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(Source: Genistra.com) 2) Menahi, 2008 A comedy revolving around a popular television Bedouin character of the same name. The film was was produced in 2008 and had a public screening for a limited time in the Capital City of Riyadh, the first public film screening in the country for over 30 years. |
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| (Source: Waleg.com) |
3) Wadjda, 2012
Written and directed by Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, the film follows a young girl that wants to own and ride a bicycle. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2014 BAFTA Awards.
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(Source: bbfc.co.uk) |
Wadjda Trailer:
3 1/2) Bilal, 2015**
Bilal is not only the first full-length CG animated Saudi feature film, it is also the first full-length CG animated Arabic Film. It chronicles the life story of Bilal Bin Rabah, the first Muaddin (caller of prayers) in Islam. The film’s Saudi director and producer, Ayman Jamal, founded Barajoun Animation Studios in Dubai and recently screened in Dubai’s International Film Festival.
Bilal Trailer:
After taking a closer look at the list above, it seems that the films produced after 2012 are of a higher quality than their predecessors and have hence received better international recognition. That is to say, Saudi filmmaking has significantly improved in terms of quality and innovation between 2012 - 2015, which so happens to coincide with the audiovisual content boom experienced in the country during the same period.
Hmm…
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| (Source: imgflip.com) |
Clearly, it’s safe to say that an established Saudi film industry is relatively non-existent.
Or is it…?
Be sure to check the next post for more :)
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*NB This list excludes Saudi Short Films such that, in comparison to full-length feature films, many short films of varying filmmaking expertise have been produced and distributed both online and in film festivals throughout the years.
Notable examples include:
Eye and Mermaid, 2014.
Written and directed by Shahad Ameen and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014.
Trailer for Eye and Mermaid (NB the video includes subtitles).
Mozmarji, 2015.
Written and directed by Wael Abumansour, this 43 minute documentary traces the origins of the Mozmar, a dance/game performed by the Hijazi*** people of Saudi. it was produced by a small film company known as Bayat Films and distributed online by Telfaz 11.
Mozmarji film, posted on Telfaz 11's Youtube Channel (NB The film includes subtitles).
Additionally, Anmar Fathaldin (one of the original founders of Uturn), who has now moved onto other business endeavours, recently tweeted the following:
كحجازي سعيد جدا بهذا العمل مدين للمخرج @wabumansour لحفظه ثقافتنا ونشره سحر المزماز https://t.co/Lr8PQh9jU4شكرا @Telfaz11 على التوزيع— أنمار فتح الدين (@jidanmar) December 15, 2015 Translation
As a Hijazi, I am very proud of this project and indebted to its director @wabumansour for preserving our culture and sharing the magic of Mozmar… Thank you Telfaz 11 for distributing it.
Hijazi: a person inhabiting the Hijaz area and culture of Saudi Arabia. The area lies on the West Coast and mainly encompasses the cities Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah.
Years before the film was produced, Ayman Jamal gave a TED talk in Jeddah about his future plans for the film and who inspired him to make it, his son.
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