Riyadh: The lights go out, the projector whirls and entertainment-starved Saudis sink into plush seats to soak up an experience they have been denied for decades — a trip to the cinema.
The rare movie night this week in Riyadh was a precursor to an expected formal lifting of the kingdom’s ban on cinemas, long vilified as vulgar and sinful by religious hardliners.
Following a decree allowing women to drive, authorities have hinted cinemas would soon be permitted as part of ambitious reforms for a post-oil era that could shake up the austere kingdom’s cultural scene.
“Cinema is like the soul of Saudi society,” said Faisal Alharbi, director of National Dialogue, one of three short films screened to an audience packed into the capital’s King Fahd Cultural Centre.
The cavernous hall was segregated by gender at the free screening — the latest in a series of shows since July.
A food truck hawking grilled burgers was parked outside and the audience was offered servings of Arabic coffee in thimble-sized plastic cups.
Once the ban ends, medical student Sultan expects cinemas with all the trappings of the modern movie experience, including vending machines churning out popcorn and cotton candy.
Reviving cinemas would represent a paradigm shift in the kingdom, which is promoting entertainment as part of a sweeping reforms plan dubbed “Vision 2030”, despite opposition from conservatives.
Hardliners, who see cinemas as a threat to cultural and religious identity, were instrumental in shutting them down in the 1980s.
Saudi Arabia’s highest-ranking cleric warned in January of the “depravity” of cinemas, saying they would corrupt morals.
But authorities appear to be shrugging off the threat, with some comparing Saudi Arabia’s reform drive to a fast-moving bus — either people get on board or risk being left behind.
A ban on cinemas does not make sense in the age of YouTube, filmmakers say.
Saudi films have been making waves abroad, using the Internet to circumvent distribution channels and sometimes the stern gaze of state censors.
Wadjda, by Saudi female director Haifaa al-Mansour, made history in 2013 after it became Saudi Arabia’s first Academy Award entry.
The film depicts the dream of a 10-year-old girl to get a bicycle just like the boys in her conservative neighbourhood.
This year, the country is again vying for an Oscar with the film “Barakah Meets Barakah”, the kingdom’s first romantic comedy which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
