Year

Country

Home

People

Films

Articles

Store

The screening of Menahi which took place on Saturday 6^th June 2009 marked the first time that had a film had been screened publicly in Riyadh for more than 30 years since the government shut cinemas down in response to concerns that mixed cultural activities could encourage mixing of the sexes, which is a violation of Islamic values.   However, although girls up to the age of ten were allowed entry, women were strictly banned from the screening, and a checkpoint was set up to ensure none tried to enter.

Publicity for the event was low-key with just a couple of newspapers carrying reports about the forthcoming event and indicating where tickets for the screening could be purchased.   The organisers kept publicity discreet to avoid inflaming opinion and encouraging religious conservatives to protest in numbers.   As it was, there were only a couple of minor protests: one man urged worshippers at a mosque attached to the cultural centre not to enter the theatre following evening prayers, while another shouted that the audience shouldn’t be spending their money on such events.   Neither appeared to spoil the enjoyment of the audience in the near-capacity cinema.

The film was produced by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, nephew of King Abdullah, the world’s 13^th richest man, who is an outspoken advocate of the need for cinemas in Saudi Arabia.  

 [ADD]