Keif al-Hal?

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Keif al-Hal? "كيف الحال؟"
Directed by	Izidore Musallam
Produced by	Ayman Halawani
Starring	Hisham Abdulrahman Hind Mohammed Meshaal al-Mutairi Turki Al Yousef
Distributed by	Rotana
Release date(s)	November 9, 2006
Language	Arabic
IMDb profile

Keif al-Hal? (Arabic: كيف الحال؟) is Saudi Arabia's first big-budget film, produced by Ayman Halawani (of Prince Al-Walid bin Talal's Rotana Group). Directed by Izidore Musallam, it stars Hind Mohammed, the first Saudi cinema actress.^[1]

Mohammed, who appears unveiled, received threats from some conservative Muslims, but remains optimistic, hoping the film will encourage reform to Saudi Arabia's restrictions on cinema. Saudi audiences will be able to see the film on pay-per-view through an agreement with Showtime Arabia.^[2] The film's title roughly translates into, "How's it going?" or "How are you?". The film, shot in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is a comedy-drama that recounts the story of a family torn between modernity and tradition in Saudi Arabia.

Although there is clerical opposition to public screenings of films in Saudi Arabia, media reports suggest that the ban on public display of movies there is also in keeping with the monarchy's refusal to permit unlicensed public gatherings. ^[3]

[edit] Notes

^ NYTimes.com: Daring to Use the Silver Screen to Reflect Saudi Society
^ Ali Jaafar. "First Saudi feature bows", Variety, Reed Elsevier Inc., October 23, 2006 - October 29, 2006, p. 19. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.
^ http://www.paynesvillearea.com/news/headlinesarticles/archives/112801/karenarabia112801.html "Public gatherings are NOT allowed. There are no movie theaters or any kind of activity that would allow large numbers of people to congregate to share viewpoints, with the exception of soccer matches, which are open to men only. We've seen on television that Saudis have meetings out in the desert where they meet with the local prince to express their grievances."

[edit] References

"UK-Arab paper says "first Saudi film" to be shown in Cairo", BBC Monitoring Middle East - Political, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2006-10-23. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.