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 On Saturday night the Saudi capital Riyadh saw a small slice of history, with the first screening of a film in 30 years – which was marred slightly by around 15 protesters who tried to shut it down.
The film in question, Menahi, has been doing the rounds of the Kingdom and has already played in Jeddah, Taif and Jazan. The Saudi religious police have already been embroiled in a row over the film’s showing, claiming it was unIslamic.
Arab News describes the protesters at Saturday’s screening as “zealots” – and also produces the wonderful headline “‘Menahi’ screening irks some”.
“While young activists on Facebook started a campaign calling for opening of cinemas in the Kingdom, 15 people aged 30 to 40 attempted to disrupt the film’s showing at KFCC, by trying to persuade moviegoers to leave in order to close down the show,” said the paper’s report.
“Their attempts created a brief flutter as the 15 zealots scolded the audience in loud voices and cursed Fayz Al Malki, the main actor, while accusing him of spreading vice,” it added.
Al Malki was having none of it, however, and was quoted in Arab News as saying: “They do not represent Islam, have no official standing and cannot be considered guardians of virtue. Therefore, they have no real influence.”
The actor apparently received a number of threats by phone and SMS before the screening, claiming, among other things, that he would get cancer and would attract God’s wrath.
Meanwhile his co-star, Hassan Al Asiri, suggested Saudi Arabia needed a 20-year plan to reintroduce cinema, with only Saudi films being shown for the first 10 years as theatres are opened, then working towards films from other GCC states, then other Arab films. At least in the Arab News report, he made no mention of Western films.
Cinema seems to be a key cultural front in the ongoing battle between moderate modernisers and religious hard-liners in Saudi Arabia – and at the moment, it looks like the moderates are winning.
However, this is still only one film, with little in the way of commercial impact – and it is quite possible that the precedents set with these four screenings will mean little or nothing in the future.
In contrast to some of the earlier screenings, it seems the protests were all by non-official players – as far as anyone is admitting to, in any case. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, itself battling a number of publicity battles, told Arab News it had nothing to do with Saturday’s protests.
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