The Saudi Red Sea Film Festival has promised “zero censorship” after the participation of an Arab film that deals with a specific issue of the LGBT community, despite its residence in a country that criminalizes homosexuality.
Moroccan film ‘The Blue Caftan’ is participating in the Saudi Film Festival, which kicked off on Thursday for the second consecutive year.
The film revolves around the story of a gay Moroccan tailor who hides his sexuality for 25 years before being forced to confront his sexuality when a male apprentice joins his shop to train in the profession.
The Red Sea Film Festival website credits director Maryam Touzani for dealing with “a complex subject with sensitivity and courage”, pointing “the way to a society where tradition and tolerance thrive together”.
newspaper said,KeeperAllowing such films at the Red Sea Festival creates a paradox, as Jeddah’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel effectively becomes a temporary exemption from homophobic Saudi practices.
The festival’s chief executive, Mohammed al-Turki, said there was “a bit of Western hypocrisy” when it came to criticizing holding a film festival in Saudi Arabia, adding he was keen to host an event in his home country that would have been impossible just a few years ago.
In response to a question from the Film Industry News website.DeadlineOn LGBTQ rights, Al Turki said that “the festival has a zero censorship policy… I don’t think you can have an international film festival if you are going to be subject to censorship.”
One of the biggest challenges has been getting film and media professionals from outside the Middle East and North Africa region to participate amid allegations that Saudi Arabia uses culture to distance itself from its human rights abuses .
Among the participants is Luca Guadagnino, who directed the Oscar-winning “Call me by your name,” a film about the love story of two homosexuals that will surely not pass Saudi censorship.
The festival’s international programming director Clem Aftab said there are no government restrictions on which films can be selected.
Speaking to Screen International, Aftab said: ‘Looking at Saudi Arabia as a whole is a huge mistake – you’d be like me saying everyone in England is white British.’
He continued, “Look at today’s America, where Roe v. Wade has been overturned. Things can go back and forth. Every society has flaws.”
Just five years after the Gulf monarchy lifted a 10-year ban on cinemas, the second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival kicked off on Thursday and continues for ten days of screenings.
Other guests included Lebanese actress and director Nadine Labaki, as well as fellow directors Guy Ritchie and Academy Award winner Spike Lee. But the kingdom is once again accused of using such international festivals as a tool to wash its reputation.
Michael Pegg, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, accused the Saudi authorities of using “festivals as a reputation-washing tool in the same way they have used sporting events and celebrities to try to mask their terrible image,” according to the “Guardian.”
Sharon Stone was among the charismatic stars — amidst a slew of big names — on the festival’s opening night.
The next day, the well-known American actress participated in a discussion in which she described her reason for coming to Saudi Arabia, while acknowledging the fears of those around her in the United States.
“What I’ve learned is that what everyone says isn’t always what it really is,” she said.The Hollywood Reporter“.
Speaking from a country where the issue of women’s rights has been a major source of criticism, but which has undergone rapid transformation in recent years, Stone also gave an impassioned speech on women’s empowerment.
“Women are not here just to serve men. Men are here to serve women too. If we’re not equal, then we don’t respect the Creator,” she said.
“We are here to serve good and humanity,” he added, to applause from the mostly Saudi audience.
