Young Saudis waiting for the day they can finally go to the cinema
THE rest of the world saw news of a cabinet reshuffle in Saudi Arabia and wondered what it would mean for oil prices.
Inside the country, it prompted another question altogether: would they finally be allowed to go to the cinema?
Film aficionados and political analysts alike say outline reforms decreed by King Salman’s ambitious younger son, Prince Mohammed, foreshadow a wide liberalisation of rules restricting entertainment in the notoriously conservative country. “I am very optimistic about cinemas opening up in the Kingdom in the near future,” Haifaa Almansour, the country’s best-known film director, told The Daily Telegraph.
Ms Mansour was nominated for a Bafta two years ago for Wadjda, described as Saudi Arabia’s first feature film, about a young girl’s dream of owning a bicycle. The cabinet changes, in- cluding the replacement of the veteran oil minister, were revealed alongside a reform plan called Vision 2030 by Prince Mohammed, outlining development proposals for the next 15 years.
Among them was the setting up of an “entertainment authority”. The decree made no specific reference to cinemas and theatres, which are all currently banned, and government spokesmen said it was “too early” to discuss details.
But at the same time, the kingdom’s young people were complaining on so- cial media about not being able watch the latest superhero movie.
“I can’t – I live in Saudi Arabia,” said one young man on Twitter in reply to advertisements urging him to watch “Captain America”.
Commentators and newspapers all agreed that the “entertainments authority” could have only one purpose – to regulate cinemas and act as a film censorship body. “We are still waiting for clarification,” Sultan al-Bazie, chairman of the Saudi Arabia Society for Culture and Arts, said. “But everybody is expecting it to happen, and soon. ”
Prince Mohammed, who is believed to be around 31, is the youngest Saudi royal in modern times to be part of its innermost ruling councils.
He shares power with his 80-yearold father and his cousin, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 56. But it is the younger man who is currently shaking up the kingdom’s cautious reputation.
He has taken it to war in Yemen – without the approval of its old ally, the United States – and said he wants the economy to be less dependent on oil.
Now his social reforms are catching the eye, abolishing the right of the religious police to make arrests, and saying he wants more women in work.
Mohammed al-Yahya, a political analyst at the Gulf Research Centre, said Prince Mohammed was riding a wave of support from the young. “He may seem to be taking risks and even aggravating conservatives, but he’s popular with the country’s youth,” he said.