Change in Saudi Arabia: A Film Maker's Perspective Growing Up with Cinemas Shut Down Even when change is long-awaited, it's not always easy to handle.
Change in Saudi Arabia: A Film Maker’s Perspective
Growing Up with Cinemas Shut Down
Even when change is long-awaited, it’s not always easy to handle. The Saudi Arabian director Ali Kalthami was born in 1983, the year the country’s cinemas were shut down. Growing up a committed cinephile and guerrilla film-maker, he was on tenterhooks, waiting for the ban to be lifted. But when it finally happened, in 2018, he was daunted. "I felt like the gates of something huge had opened – it was overwhelming," he says. "It makes you think: am I ready or not?"
A Debut Feature That Baffles and Amazes
The answer, clearly, was yes. The 40-year-old’s debut feature, the Riyadh-set thriller Mandoob, or Night Courier, became the highest-grossing Saudi film in Saudi Arabia last December – confirming that local audiences are hungry for work that focuses the lens on their country. (Only 13% of releases there are Saudi films, but they account for 36% of the box office.) Kalthami channels his anxieties about the whiplash pace of change in the kingdom into his protagonist Fahad, a self-sabotaging food-delivery driver who, emasculated by his inability to pay for his father’s medical care, tries to muscle in on an illegal alcohol ring.
The Film That Confronts the Growing Pains
Whereas 2012’s Wadjda, the previous high point for Saudi film, was an emancipatory vision of how the country could be, Mandoob reckons with its growing pains more than a decade on: the cracks in the patriarchy, the atomising effects of hypercapitalism, the cosmopolitanism in multilingual workplaces and Instagrammable restaurants – and those shut out from it.
The Authorities Get on Board
Despite the subversiveness, the authorities finally got on board, handing the film a 15 rating and wishing it well. "They said: ‘This is one of the best ever Saudi films and we are very proud of you.’"
Ambassador for Saudi Cinema
With eyes on the untapped but potentially enormous Saudi film industry (already No 1 in the Middle East by cinema admissions), the success of Mandoob has made Kalthami an international ambassador for his country. He is proud of this, but it’s not always a comfortable place to be. An unwelcome part of the job is being called to account by journalists for the Saudi regime and its recent expansion into culture and sports. "I never see British film-makers or ones from other areas of the world get these kinds of political questions," he says.
Conclusion
In an interview with a journalist, Ali Kalthami said, "I’m sorry to brag, but the important thing that Mandoob has done is telling the producers, the decision-makers, the industry’s economic system that a variety of different people will watch films here – and not just one thing."
Frequently Asked Questions
- How did Mandoob get its rating?
- The film received a 15 rating from the authorities.
- Was it difficult to convince the film industry to back Mandoob?
- Yes, Kalthami felt uneasy when pitching the film to producers, citing its edgy subject matter and the fact that it didn’t fit traditional expectations.
- Will the scrutiny of Mandoob die down?
- Kalthami believes that with more films and integration of cultures, the scrutiny will dissolve and the Saudi film industry will move towards full freedom of expression for artists.
- What’s the impact of Mandoob’s success on Kalthami?
- As an international ambassador for Saudi cinema, Kalthami is proud but not always comfortable with the attention he receives from journalists.
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