Those who regularly follow this blog know that I have a passion for films – and now everyone else knows too. Now this also applies to Saudi Arabian films, which I encountered on flights to and from Saudi Arabia. I discovered a cinema in a shopping mall in Jeddah. I didn't have time to go inside, but I was able to observe it and its programming from the outside. I want to report on these two different yet related matters here.
Cinemas have only been permitted in Saudi Arabia since 2018. The German news magazine "DER SPIEGEL" reported on this in 2018 [1]. Until then, cinemas were banned in the Kingdom. The possibility of opening cinemas was part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salam's efforts to reform the country and open it up socially. At that time (just seven years ago!), this also included granting women state permission to drive and attend football matches. Back then, the goal for 2030 was 350 cinemas in Saudi Arabia. That seems like a realistic target to me. I consulted Google AI. According to it, there are now more than 50 cinemas with around 500 screens in the desert state. I entered the data into a graph, and 2,600 screens by 2030 would represent a linear increase. Whether that will actually meet the demand in 2030 is a completely different question.
The Vox Cinemas in the Jeddah Park Shopping Mall advertise their exceptional seating comfort. The following films were listed:
Demon Slayer
Stitch Head
The Honorable Gentlemen
What's in it?! (!فيها إيه يعني؟)
Snakes and Ladders: Childish Actions (السلم والثعبان- لعب عيال)
Now You See Me / Now You Don't
Wicked for Good
The Running Man
I admit that these aren't exactly the kind of films I would normally watch. Perhaps I would have gone to see the romantic comedy "What's in It?!" if I'd had more time.
Cinemas have only been permitted in Saudi Arabia since 2018. The German news magazine "DER SPIEGEL" reported on this in 2018 [1]. Until then, cinemas were banned in the Kingdom. The possibility of opening cinemas was part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salam's efforts to reform the country and open it up socially. At that time (just seven years ago!), this also included granting women state permission to drive and attend football matches. Back then, the goal for 2030 was 350 cinemas in Saudi Arabia. That seems like a realistic target to me. I consulted Google AI. According to it, there are now more than 50 cinemas with around 500 screens in the desert state. I entered the data into a graph, and 2,600 screens by 2030 would represent a linear increase. Whether that will actually meet the demand in 2030 is a completely different question.
The Vox Cinemas in the Jeddah Park Shopping Mall advertise their exceptional seating comfort. The following films were listed:
Demon Slayer
Stitch Head
The Honorable Gentlemen
What's in it?! (!فيها إيه يعني؟)
Snakes and Ladders: Childish Actions (السلم والثعبان- لعب عيال)
Now You See Me / Now You Don't
Wicked for Good
The Running Man
I admit that these aren't exactly the kind of films I would normally watch. Perhaps I would have gone to see the romantic comedy "What's in It?!" if I'd had more time.
Now, let's move on to the films I had access to during my Saudi flights. I was surprised by how openly and critically social issues were addressed. I watched the following films from the Saudi Arabia program:
Quareer (قوارير) is a 2021 film. Five Saudi women filmmakers (Ragheed Al Nahdi, Norah Almowald, Ruba Khafagy, Noor Alameer, and Fatma Alhazmi) explore the themes of abandonment, neglect, control, abuse, and shame of five Saudi women in a conservative society. In a captivating portrayal of a harsh reality, these girls and women risk everything to carve out their own spaces [2].
When the Shelves Hymn [3]. Mariam's husband disappears (suicide?) and she has to go from Jeddah to Al'Ula to sell the family's antique shop. She takes her teenage son Saeed with her, but he would rather stay in Jeddah. While searching for necessary documents to sell the shop, Mariam finds a video diary of her husband together with articles about suicide. It becomes clear that the husband suffered from severe depression. Mariam and Saeed are now forced to lead new, independent lives.
The Last Dismissal (انصراف) is a 15-minute short film directed by Jawaher Alamri. "A teenager who must come to terms with her grief over the passing of her best friend is forced to attend a lecture on shrouding the dead at her middle school." [4]
Hobal (هوبال) is a 2024 film directed by Abdulaziz Alshlahe [5]. Versions vary in length from 111 to 156 minutes. Since I was unaware of this, I didn't pay attention to the length while watching the film. It premiered at the Red Sea International Film Festival in December 2024 and was released in January 2025. "Hobal" is set in 1990 and is an intense drama about nomads searching for their way amidst tradition, changing values, and the first Gulf War. The Bedouin family is following instructions from their grandfather Liyam to live in complete isolation in the heart of the desert. Rifa is suffering from measles and is isolated in a tent. She needs medical care, which is refused as it would mean to drive her to town, a place where evil resides. They try to treat the rash with soaked leaves from the Holy Qu'ran and tell her to drink the water. I saw something similar in the 1971 film "The Horsemen." The film depicts Buzkashi and was filmed in Afghanistan, among other places. John Frankenheimer directed the film with Omar Sharif and Jack Palance, based on the novel "Les Cavaliers" by Joseph Kessel [6]. Back to "Hobal." Later, Rifa is bitten by a scorpion and... but please watch the movie, it's worth it.
Malika - more of a fairy tale [7]. I also checked it out, and you can watch a trailer.
Anyone interested in women's issues and fates would be well advised to watch Quareer (قوارير) and The Last Dismissal (انصراف). I personally liked Hobal (هوبال) the best, as the film has an interesting story set against a historical backdrop.
and Saudi Arabia in the light of cultural change as a nomadic and also already post-nomadic society.
Quareer (قوارير) is a 2021 film. Five Saudi women filmmakers (Ragheed Al Nahdi, Norah Almowald, Ruba Khafagy, Noor Alameer, and Fatma Alhazmi) explore the themes of abandonment, neglect, control, abuse, and shame of five Saudi women in a conservative society. In a captivating portrayal of a harsh reality, these girls and women risk everything to carve out their own spaces [2].
When the Shelves Hymn [3]. Mariam's husband disappears (suicide?) and she has to go from Jeddah to Al'Ula to sell the family's antique shop. She takes her teenage son Saeed with her, but he would rather stay in Jeddah. While searching for necessary documents to sell the shop, Mariam finds a video diary of her husband together with articles about suicide. It becomes clear that the husband suffered from severe depression. Mariam and Saeed are now forced to lead new, independent lives.
The Last Dismissal (انصراف) is a 15-minute short film directed by Jawaher Alamri. "A teenager who must come to terms with her grief over the passing of her best friend is forced to attend a lecture on shrouding the dead at her middle school." [4]
Hobal (هوبال) is a 2024 film directed by Abdulaziz Alshlahe [5]. Versions vary in length from 111 to 156 minutes. Since I was unaware of this, I didn't pay attention to the length while watching the film. It premiered at the Red Sea International Film Festival in December 2024 and was released in January 2025. "Hobal" is set in 1990 and is an intense drama about nomads searching for their way amidst tradition, changing values, and the first Gulf War. The Bedouin family is following instructions from their grandfather Liyam to live in complete isolation in the heart of the desert. Rifa is suffering from measles and is isolated in a tent. She needs medical care, which is refused as it would mean to drive her to town, a place where evil resides. They try to treat the rash with soaked leaves from the Holy Qu'ran and tell her to drink the water. I saw something similar in the 1971 film "The Horsemen." The film depicts Buzkashi and was filmed in Afghanistan, among other places. John Frankenheimer directed the film with Omar Sharif and Jack Palance, based on the novel "Les Cavaliers" by Joseph Kessel [6]. Back to "Hobal." Later, Rifa is bitten by a scorpion and... but please watch the movie, it's worth it.
Malika - more of a fairy tale [7]. I also checked it out, and you can watch a trailer.
Anyone interested in women's issues and fates would be well advised to watch Quareer (قوارير) and The Last Dismissal (انصراف). I personally liked Hobal (هوبال) the best, as the film has an interesting story set against a historical backdrop.
and Saudi Arabia in the light of cultural change as a nomadic and also already post-nomadic society.
Links and Annotations:
[1] Maren Schwarz: For 35 years it was forbidden, now a cinema is opening in Saudi Arabia. It will be this month. April 5, 2018. DER SPIEGEL.
https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/saudi-arabien-in-riad-soll-nach-35-jahren-ein-kino-eroeffnen-a-00000000-0003-0001-0000-000002245587
[2] Adapted from https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/912773?language=de
[3] https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt32431670/
https://redseafilmfest.com/en/rsiff_film/when-the-shelves-hymn/
[4] https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt29379157/
https://mubi.com/en/sa/films/the-last-dismissal
[5] There is all sorts of information about this film in Internet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbWL7YCF5s
https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt16150082/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobal_(film)
https://x.com/newsnow7345/status/1875082798970835074
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horsemen_(1971_film)
[7] https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt33372813/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrcx-m4cl9A
.
https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/saudi-arabien-in-riad-soll-nach-35-jahren-ein-kino-eroeffnen-a-00000000-0003-0001-0000-000002245587
[2] Adapted from https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/912773?language=de
[3] https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt32431670/
https://redseafilmfest.com/en/rsiff_film/when-the-shelves-hymn/
[4] https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt29379157/
https://mubi.com/en/sa/films/the-last-dismissal
[5] There is all sorts of information about this film in Internet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbWL7YCF5s
https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt16150082/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobal_(film)
https://x.com/newsnow7345/status/1875082798970835074
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horsemen_(1971_film)
[7] https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt33372813/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrcx-m4cl9A
.
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