InfoAnda - Saudi Government Cancels first Jeddah Film Festival

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Court Grants Madonna's Appeal To Adopt A Malawian Girl | 13 June 2009
Photographers sue Bundchen, Brady over shooting | Entertainment | | 23 September 2009
3D coming around again, in your home | Technology | | 10 January 2009

Two killed as passenger plane lands in Myanmar rice field | | 25 December 2012

Home | News Briefs | U.S. | World | Celeb Buzz | Entertainment | Sports | Business | Health | Sci / Tech | Politics | Weird & Offbeat --- Advertisment --- Saudi Government Cancels first Jeddah Film Festival July 19, 2009 10:07 a.m. EST --- Advertisment --- The Media Line Staff It was the night before the first major cinema event to ever grace the streets of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Mamdouh Salem was exceedingly busy. Salem, a filmmaker with the Al-Ruad Media, was putting the final touches to the first Jeddah Film Festival, of which he was the founding director. "It was Friday 11pm and I was still at the cultural center preparing," Salem told The Media Line. "Checking the sound balance, arranging the lighting and organizing the filmmakers from various Gulf countries." Then the call came. "I received a call from the Jeddah Municipality to tell me that the entire festival must be cancelled," Salem remembered. "I asked why but the official did not provide me with a reason, only that I was not to show a single film." "I was completely shocked," Salem said. "I just sat down in silence for five minutes... Finally one of the judges asked me what had happened and I simply said: 'It's cancelled, everything is cancelled.'" Salem said he spent an inordinate amount of time fundraising and arranging the event. "I have been preparing for 6 months," he said. "Recruiting films and directors, arranging the location, lighting system, projectors, technical training, posters and seminars about the festival... everything was ready." "Then they tell me the night before that it's all cancelled," he sighed. For the past four years Salem has organized small film festivals in the city, but under the guise of "visual exhibitions." This year the event received the backing of Rotana, the largest production company in the Middle East, chaired by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. 71 films, most from Gulf countries, were set to be screened and a variety of awards given. A number of regional entertainment personalities and 50 directors flew in from across the Middle East for the event. "What are we supposed to do now?" Salem added. "How can we plan events if they will get cancelled at the last minute?" Salem claims that together with Rotana well over one million Saudi Arabian Riyals (about $267,000) was "wasted" on the cancelled festival. Ensuring the event was officially sanctioned, the organizers intentionally included a number of films produced by conservative directors or whose purpose was to portray Islam in a positive light. "It's a big surprise for all of us," Hussam Abu Sabra, CEO of Donya Productions, a Saudi production company, told The Media Line. "One of the films is a silent Islamic film, without women or music, but the government doesn't understand the meaning of film... They don't know what to do about the religious protests, so they just say don't talk about film, film is forbidden." "I travelled over 1200 kilometers and paid for two directors to fly into the country to see our films." Abu Sabra added. "It's lots of money - our tickets, cars and hotels - but you can either laugh or cry," he said laughing. Halema Muzafar, on a team of film festival judges who had already started working, agreed. "It was a big dream for us," she told The Media Line. "What can I say? I'm very sad." Abdul Nushim Al Mutairi, an aspiring young Saudi director, came to Jeddah for the first Saudi screening of his short film The Project. "We just stayed in the hotel and did nothing," he laments. "The film has been screened at film festivals in Spain and Dubai and privately in Saudi, but this would have been my film's first, and perhaps only, public screening in the country." Al Mutairi placed the blame for the festival's cancellation squarely on the kingdom's religious establishment. "Prior to the festival religious conservatives were very active with the government," he says. "They tried to do whatever was necessary to stop the film festival." "It's weird," he continued, "They let us make the film, the police support us making the film in the streets, yet Saudi is the only country in the Middle East without cinema... We are like fish without water." Some in the Saudi film industry, however, said the event was disorganized and suggested there may not be a political calculation behind its last minute termination. "I'm not sure the government stopped the festival because it's film," Silvio Saadi, CEO of Saudi Arabia's first production company Silver Grey Picture & Sound, told The Media Line. "The government is always supporting art initiatives, but this wasn't organized properly. There was no proper jury, no selection board, it was just a mess. In my opinion, that's why it got stopped." The Jeddah Municipality and the Saudi Ministry of Culture did not return requests for comment. The first commercial screening of a Saudi movie in over 30 years took place last month with much fanfare. Despite street protests by Saudi religious groups opposed to the screenings, thousands of people attended. This was followed late last week by Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz banning the opening of public cinemas in the kingdom. The developments follow extensive debate within Saudi society over the propriety of films. The government has indicated a willingness to consider the opening of public movie theaters, but this has been resisted by the kingdom's religious establishment, which follows a strict Wahhabist interpretation of Islam and believe films have the potential to debase the Islamic fabric of Saudi society. Copyright © 2003 - 2009 AHN - All rights reserved.Redistribution, republication. syndication, rewriting or broadcast is prohibited without the prior written consent of AHN.License AHN news for your website, business, digital signage network or publication. Home | News Briefs | U.S. | World | Entertainment | Sports | Business | Health | Sci / Tech | Politics | Weird / Offbeat © 2009 AHN Client Login | Submit News | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact | Content Services All Rights Reserved

Other News on Monday, 20 July 2009
Ahmadinejad criticized over vice president choice
Iran bails British embassy staffer
Iran hardliners criticize Ahmadinejad over deputy
Ahmadinejad's controversial VP pick quits: report
Time to talk to Taliban: Musharraf
Ahmadinejad's controversial VP pick resigns: report
Palestinian negotiator met Iranian FM: top official
Govs resist added federal expenses from Congress
SF train operator's actions come under scrutiny
Michael Jackson's boyhood home still draws curious
Friend: Slain woman, accused husband had split
Mormon 'kiss-in' in Utah leads to shouting match
3 rescued off NJ coast after fleeing burning boat
Town on SF Bay wants to photograph every car
Chances of OJ winning release? Depends who you ask
Palin: Alaska tour is thanks, not goodbye
Palin gears up to leave Alaska governor's mansion
Madonna visits family of dead Marseille stage hand
US-TECH Summary
Honduras crisis talks end in failure | International |
German's Merkel slams Swedish nuclear operator
British airlines blocking swine flu travellers
Fire destroys Anne Frank barracks in Netherlands
White House budget director expects better GDP figures
404 Not Found
Zuma names new chief for S.Africa's central bank
Fears for fate of French hostages in Somalia
Online music video site MUZU signs up global indies | Technology |
India takes firm line with Clinton on climate change
Myanmar detains dozens of opposition members
China says recent Urumqi unrest was premeditated
Rains kill 26 in Pakistan's biggest city
CORRECTED
Tiny Tuvalu says all its energy renewable by 2020
China says police killed 12 people in Urumqi unrest
NATO: Helicopter crash at Afghan base kills 16
Monsoon rain kills 16 in Pakistan: officials
AEG Live negotiates for Jackson documentary: report
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
AEG Live negotiates for Jackson documentary: report
Madonna visits victims of French stage accident
Thriller sales soar close to Eagles' Hits | Entertainment |
Online music video site MUZU signs up global indies
Online music video site MUZU signs up global indies | Entertainment |
Report: Abdul's return to 'American Idol' doubtful
Carla Bruni sings in NY at Mandela show | Entertainment |
AEG Live negotiates for Jackson documentary: report | Entertainment |
Pop collaborations take French DJ beyond clubs
Musicians' country gathering results in Glory | Entertainment |
"Thriller" sales soar close to Eagles' "Hits"
Musicians' country gathering results in "Glory"
"Harry Potter" smashes "Spider-Man" records
Carla Bruni sings in NY at Mandela show
Pop collaborations take French DJ beyond clubs | Entertainment |
USF Star Kicker Takes A Tumble Off Skyride At Busch Gardens
Father And Daughter Perish After Plunging From Waterfall
US review calls for overhaul of Bagram prison
CIT nearing three-billion-dollar rescue deal: report
Frank McCourt, of 'Angela's Ashes' fame, dead: NYT
Thousands flee western Canadian wildfires | International |
US marks 40 years since man stepped on the moon
NATO aircraft crashes in southern Afghanistan | International |
Japan opposition keeps lead ahead of poll: survey | International |
South Korea pushes to restart nuclear talks with North | International |
Indonesia TV identifies Jakarta hotel bombing suspect | International |
Economy, rights on agenda for ASEAN ministers | International |
Nicaragua's leftist president calls for re-election | International |
Swine flu in Vietnam forces school's closure
Pakistan: 4 police officers killed in ambush
Kids' lower IQ scores linked to prenatal pollution
STIMULUS WATCH: Neediest areas not first for money
1,000 flee homes after chemical leak in China
Report: Taiwan and China to set up tourism offices
Starting to get crowded in 100-year-olds' club
Weather forecast for the Asia-Pacific region
RNC chairman attacks Obama on health care
Microsoft deal talk, optimism overshadow results | Technology |
Forest fires force thousands to evacuate in Canada
Solar eclipse pits superstition against science
US envoy to discuss NKorea with Seoul officials
Abdul's return to 'Idol' reportedly doubtful
Apollo 11 astronauts look beyond moon, toward Mars
AP source: CIT board meeting Sunday night
Idaho town prays for return of captured US soldier
Japanese stock markets closed for national holiday
New Zealand services sector lower in June-survey
Seoul shares open higher on earnings momentum
NZ investor confidence lifts off lows in Q2-survey
Unseen Jackson U.K. footage on the way
'Angela's Ashes' author McCourt dies in NYC at 78
Unseen Jackson U.K. footage on the way | Entertainment |
USF Star Kicker Takes A Tumble Off Skyride At Busch Gardens
TN Man Arrested In Multiple Homicides Tied To Domestic Dispute
Jay-Z unveils latest Blueprint for success | Entertainment |
Iraq colonel: US troops now in 'prison-like bases'
Lost love letter reunites couple after 16 years
Ayatollah warns against helping Iran's enemies | International |
LL Cool J Quarantined During Mid-Air Flight Drama
Iceland announces relaunch of rescued banks
NATO jet crashes in Afghanistan, two hurt: military
Mumbai attacker in surprise guilty plea | International |
Japan PM set to call poll as party at risk of defeat | International |
'Afghans raise flag on highest peak'
U2 Pledges $7 Million To National Music Program For Young People
Afghans raise flag on country's highest peak
Pohoda Music Festival Storm Claims 1 Life, Injures 40
Iran supremo slams 'meddling', reformers eye referendum
404 Not Found
Iraq car bombing kills three
News Anchor Legend Walter Cronkite Dies At 92
Settlers torch West Bank trees: Palestinians | International |
"Angela's Ashes" Author Frank McCourt Dies At 78
Bomb kills 11 civilians in Afghanistan: officials
Saudi Government Cancels first Jeddah Film Festival
German police catch underwear thief | International |
Fifty-six more on trial in Turkish coup plot case | International |
Report: Taiwan and China exchange tourism offices
La. menagerie keeper adds 'roo pouch to outfits
Pakistan: 5 security officers killed in northwest
One dead, six wounded in Philippine blasts
Grenade blast wounds 7 in southern Philippine city
Obama takes on health care, meets Apollo 11 crew
China's drinking culture in spotlight: state media
Trial resumes for evangelist accused of sex crimes
SKorea deciding how to inspect suspicious NK ships
NKorea shows no signs on nuke talks: US envoy
EMC takes control of Data Domain | Technology |
Locally killed is latest trend in high grade meat
Clinton touts prospects for better ties with India
Miss. shows Katrina recovery at govs' convention
EU sets hearing over Google books deal | Technology |
Obama's approval rating drops below 60 pct
IT spending forecasts improve, Cisco popular: UBS | Technology |
Thailand's exports decline for eighth month
Clinton touts prospects for better ties with India
San Miguel toll road investment, eyes Dole Food
Seoul shares at 10-mth closing high; techs, banks up =2
Samsung Elec to invest $4.3 bln in green R&D
Chinese oil firms to 'buy stake in Angola block'
Aussie MasterChef hits out at 'fix' claims
Competition aims to make Bruce Lee home a museum
Cambodia set to award Total oil exploration rights
Seoul shares at 10-mth closing high;techs, banks up
1st funeral held for Jakarta bomb victims
Jakarta hotel suicide bomber identified: reports
Jay-Z unveils latest "Blueprint" for success
Pakistani c.bank buys 5.0 bln rupees of govt paper
Harry Potter smashes Spider-Man records | Entertainment |
Korea Hot Stocks
Madonna visits workers injured in French stage collapse | Entertainment |
Unfinished Greene novel serialized in magazine | Entertainment |
Antichrist director says outrage suits me fine | Entertainment |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01