Saudi Arabia gets its first film club

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's first film club was founded in the eastern city of Dammam.

The club was created as a joint initiative of the Saudi Arts and Cultural Society and Dammam Literary Club.

Main objective of the club, according to its founders yesterday, is to take care of the affairs concerning those working in the film industry.

A bylaw for the club has also been endorsed by the founders and detailed working plans for the club will be prepared later.

The film club's areas of activities include organising annual film festivals, improving talents and developing skills of the film industry workers through holding training courses, workshops and other activities, acquainting with the latest technologies and machinery being used in the industry, documentation and archiving of films produced, and enhancing interaction with the concerned agencies as well as with the public.

The club's activities were formally launched on June 15 and the duration of the first session of its activities will be two years. It was also announced that a Supreme Consultative Authority, comprised of cultural figures, will be constituted in due course.

Board members

The film club's executive board will also be formed and its members will be comprised of representatives of the Saudi Arts and Cultural Society and Dammam Literary Club besides people working in the kingdom's nascent film industry.

Formation of the new club, the first of its kind in the kingdom, was regarded as a by-product of the ongoing cultural partnership between the Saudi Arts and Cultural Society and Dammam Literary Club.

The credit for holding the first annual Saudi Film Competition goes to the society and the literary club.

The five-day event, which enjoyed official patronage and funding, drew a huge crowd of viewers, including a considerable number of women last month.

The film kilo 500, directed by Abdullah Al Eyaf, a Saudi national, bagged Golden Palm in the best short film category in the competition. A total of 47 films, of which 40 were from Saudi directors, were screened in the competition.

Several lectures, seminars and workshops focusing on the Saudi film industry were also held on the sidelines of the event.

Saudi Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Madani inaugurated the film festival at the auditorium of the Saudi Society of Arts and Culture in Dammam. In his speech, the minister appreciated screening of such films that highlight the true life of Saudi people as well as their cultural life.

He urged the organisers to hold such competitions in other regions of the kingdom also. "While making films, there should be a focus on the rich Saudi culture, heritage, history, and intellectual awakening in the society," Madani said.

Riyadh Members from the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (religious police) raided a studio in downtown Batha while shooting of the popular comedy serial Baini Wa bainaka (Between Me and You) was taking place.

The raid on the studio was on the pretext that shooting continued uninterrupted during the time of Maghreb prayer, which is an allegation denied by the film workers. Khalid Al Shahri, director of the serial, said that Hassan Aseeri, an actor in the serial, was taken to the commission office for interrogation and was later released.

He said that the shooting was finished before the call for the prayer was made.

On his part, the religious police office said that their men received a pledge from those inside the studio that the incident would not repeat in future. Shooting for the second part of the serial is going on and it will be broadcast during Ramadan.