A Saudi prince fighting to have his own films shown in the ultra-conservative country says public movie screenings are "inevitable", despite stiff opposition from religious clerics, local newspapers reported on Monday. Saudi tycoon Prince Al-Walid bin Talal, who owns regional film production and distribution companies, said in a statement he expected a 30-year-old ban on cinemas would come to an end, although he did not specify when.
"Films and movie theatres will come inevitably," said Al-Walid, who is famous in Saudi Arabia for pushing up against rules in the kingdom that separate the sexes and restrict modern entertainment. The prince, a globally recognised investor with a large stake in troubled US bank Citigroup, was able to have the film "Menahi," made by his production company Rotana, shown for a week in December in Jeddah, where it was hugely popular.
"Menahi," which is being shown again this week in Jeddah, is a comedy that tells the story of a Saudi country farmer's misadventures when he finds himself in the glitzy modern city of Dubai.
But attempts to show the film in Riyadh and other Saudi cities have so far failed, apparently blocked by religious hard-liners who have prevented movies from having public commercial showings in the country since the late 1970s. Despite the ban, many Saudis enjoy a large selection of movies on satellite broadcasts from neighbouring countries and some travel to other countries to go to the cinema. "We will support the success and advancement of Saudi cinema within the framework of our culture and tradition," the prince, a nephew of King Abdullah, the prince said in an English version of the announcement.
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