Discoveries from Saudi Arabia World Cinema

Director Saad Tahitah sheds light on a man passionate about knowledge and avid about collecting rarities, seeking to employ his passion in documenting "The Memory of Asir."

The moment when 'Saad' decided to overcome his fears and compete in the karting championship for the chance to win the million riyals prize.

Between Youssef, the former blind soldier, and Dhafer, who fled from the security authorities.

"Transit" is a mystery film that tells the story of the mysterious communication received by Jacob, who is tasked with answering calls from the victims' relatives during the war.

The story of a lonely sixty-year-old man who uses the radio as a window to life.

When the shower becomes a goal to achieve, Saleh faces life circumstances and the hardship of delivering vegetables so he can buy it for his elderly father.

"The Grocery List" is a short film set in a hidden and strange supermarket that only sells milk bottles.

In a thrilling framework, the internal conflict of a young man awaiting the arrival of his firstborn leads him into a whirlwind of emotions in the film 'Kinship'

"Sunday" is a film that delves into the psychology of a disturbed individual who desires to commit murder due to societal reasons and family circumstances that led him to it

Video work by Sara Abu Abdallah

Expedited urban development has rendered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially the city of Riyadh, perpetually heterotopic. The capital city is the product of unprecedented sprawl; though it has existed for less than a century, today it exceeds an area of 1,798 km2. The ramifications of this growth are vividly demonstrated in the Al-Manakh neighborhood, home to the behemoth Yamamah Saudi Cement Company (YSCC) founded in the 1960s and Al-Manakh Park, established in 2005. The YSCC produces 18,600 tons of cement per day; from this one factory, almost the entirety of the modern and postmodern city of Riyadh has been built. While the contribution of the factory to the Anthropocene is undeniable, it is somewhat negated by the breadth of biodiversity that has been cultivated by this strenuous closed The neighborhood’s inhabitants show tremendous passive resilience; the transfer of 60 years of heritable traits shape this adaptive strength, making Al-Manakh greater than the sum of its parts.

The artwork communicates that food is a language of its own, capable of transcending borders and boundaries. It binds people together, making them part of a broader cultural narrative. It is a profound statement about the power of culinary traditions to strengthen connections and create communities that preserve and celebrate cultural heritage.

Although she now lives in the UK, some of Jamal Al-Lail's most precious childhood memories come from growing up in the sacred city of Makkah where her father was a mutawwif, or guide for pilgrims. In reflecting on the timeless nature of her own purpose in life, which she locates in the interplay between travel and transformation, she found herself reminiscing about those cherished days. The resulting film Here and There paints a nostalgic picture of pilgrimage, eschewing narrative for an accumulation of so many little quieter moments of faith. It was shot on a handheld camcorder to recreate the wobbles, washed out palette, and grainy visual artefacts of older technologies, and mirror the memories imprinted on her own mind.

The story takes place in a hotel isolated in the middle of nowhere, when (Rakan) finds himself in a state of despair and psychological exhaustion after spending 101 days away from his family. In a strange context of the hero's psychological thoughts, he wishes to emerge from them happily and peacefully.

A phone call from the future warns an underground hacker of impending danger.

One evening, a young man falls into a depressive state. Non-narrative art story that demonstrates the beauty of gloomy moods to the viewer. Doomsday poetry.

The documentary showcases how the story of 5-year-old Rayan’s tragic demise has touched the hearts of millions around the world.

Malcolm X, Malcolm Little, or as he prefers El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, the world has known him as a fearless and courageous man. He was one of the greatest and most influential African American leaders throughout American history. His story of bravery and perseverance did not begin that way.

Mehmed the Conqueror is an animated Islamic-themed film about Mehmed the Conqueror and his warlike dedication during the conquest of Constantinople.

Thirty years after the 1991 Gulf War, a group of filmmakers who were children during the hostilities travel across Saudi Arabia, gathering stories that bring home the emotional and mental costs of living through that conflict. Thirteen stories mingle with snatches of old songs and some nostalgic images of the time, invoking memories of the good things of childhood as well as the horrors of war.

Bangladeshi artist Naima Karim was paralyzed by a virus and for a year could do nothing but look at the sky. She then experienced the monsoon even more intensely than usual: the initial gusts of wind, the rapidly darkening sky, the oppressive humidity and finally the downpour of rain, which washes everything clean and leaves behind a fresh scent.

an 80 years old man want to get back to his old love after the death of her husband

Sooner or later a man who wears two faces forgets which one is real

CUE SAUDI ARABIA'S ELECTRONIC UNDERGROUND

A girl is chased by a demon, so her friends desperately search for her.

Shandilya is the disciple of Parivrajaka, a Buddhist monk. He comes across with Vasanthasena, a courtesan. Vasanthasena dies on spot as a result of Yamadoota's carelessness. Witnessing Shandilya's lamentation, Parivrajaka transfers his soul to the body of Vasanthasena. What ensues is nothing but series of comical events. The satirical story features the collision of two worlds.

In two days, two brothers go through a predicament that may change their lives for ever.

Algeria in the late 1980s, during a period of intense violence, a Bollywood movie has become an unexpected sensation all over the country. Following the nostalgia of this love story coming from far away, "Janitou" explores what love means in today's Algerian society and detangles with tenderness and seriousness the emotional identity of a traumatized generation.

This documentary follows a group of Yemeni masons as they restore the 16th century Amiriya Madrasa using ancient—and uniquely Yemeni—techniques. Through this project they not only renovate and protect a revered landmark, but also ensure that their rare craft will not be lost.

After dinning home, he heads to an underground party, where the flow of events lead to a devastating outburst.

Moonscape is a short film which takes the form of a music video for a ballad/middle of the road song, performed as a duet between a male and female singer, in Arabic. The song traces the story of a man called Dennis M. Hope, who claimed ownership of the Moon in 1980 and thus founded the Lunar Embassy – a company that sells land on a variety of planets and Moons, and makes a connection between his story and that of the director's – a young Palestinian woman living under the Israeli occupation, longing to end the misery of her people in any way possible.

A man tries to make his usual morning breakfast. But a strange egg ruins the day and turns it into a fierce battle, which eventually leads him to discover a bizarre surprise.

Inspired by everyday struggle of Micro-bus drivers in Cairo, Flox, the title of the film and the name of the micro-bus as pronounced by Its drivers, is an observational documentary that looks at the intricate interplay between class and gender. Specifically, it explores how micro-bus drivers perceive and negotiate their masculinity in a mega-city like Cairo, For them, driving a difficult vehicle, handling inter-group conflict, struggling with poverty, surviving with substance abuse only made them to wish not to foresee their children inheriting the same job. The film is about the beauty as well as the dark side of the chaotic life of the urban poor, who are forced to create a state within a state in order to live.

Lebanese filmmaker Dima El-Horr moved to Paris several years ago. Among the friends who stayed at home is the artist Sirvat Fazlian, whom she regularly visits in Beirut until the failed revolution of 2019, the COVID lockdown, the devastating port explosion and finally the dramatic economic crisis put a temporary end to their meetings. So the director decides to give her conversations with Siro a cinematic form.

In this astutely played and beautifully shot drama by Isabelle Mecattaf, a look at an anxious day in a wealthy Beirut household becomes a moving rumination on the pain felt by parents of grown children seeking better lives far from home.

In today’s Beirut, Hoda secretly goes to report a crime her husband committed but she is faced with unexpected consequences.

Chased by the army, two Beduin smuggle Palestinian workers through the Negev desert. A portrait filmed over five years about men living on the edge in one the most fragile regions of the world.

Malek, a young man born into a Lebanese feudalist family, is living a secret love story with the man of his dreams. Facing fierce opposition from the matriarch landowner of the family, Malek strives to hold onto his own identity. Her disapproval and determination to maintain “our dynasty” effectively destroy the relationship. The hopes, fears, longings and desires of Malek and his lover unfold in a surrealist tale of frustrated love.

A young Bedouin wildlife hunter valiantly tackles the severity of the desert and saves the customary norm in the north of the Arabian Peninsula.

Aalgak Directed Asala Ghassan Mandourah