Mamdouh Salem, Saudi filmmaker and film director at Rowad Media for Media Production and Distribution speaking about the Saudi films at the 4th Asian film festival in Jeddah, Sunday . JEDDAH: Three Saudi films screened Sunday during the 4th Asian Film Festival here have grabbed the attention of a number of expatriates and Saudis. “Films are a medium to show our culture, tradition and lifestyle and this film festival is a great opportunity for me to show our culture and lifestyle to expatriates,” said Mamdouh Salem, filmmaker and film director at Rowad Media for Media Production and Distribution. Saudi films were also screened at the Asian film festival last year and were successful in spreading the word about Saudi culture and traditions. “Last year's experience was great, people really liked the Saudi films, though most of the Saudi films are documentaries and short films. This year we brought an one-hour action film “Mission in the City Center,” which is a new concept and totally made by Saudi filmmakers. I hope people will appreciate it as well,” he added. Besides “Mission in the City Center”, the two other Saudi films screened Sunday were “Jeddah Meeting of Cultures” a documentary on last year's Jeddah flood calamity, and “Ayesh” a short film. “Jeddah Meeting of Cultures” is produced and directed by Mamdouh Salem. The film describes how the people of different communities came together and helped in the disaster. “Ayesh” by Abdullah Ayaf is a film about the character “Ayesh” a middle aged man who is working as a guard in a hospital morgue, and his life is just passing by. He doesn't care about how he is living, his routine of living makes him as dead as the dead bodies he takes care of, but one day he is shifted from the morgue to a baby nursery, where he sees newborn babies and he feels life and its different hues. This small incident changes his life from death to a living person. “The film is about two ends of human life coming to this world and going back, a newborn baby starts a new life and the morgue is a symbol of death, the end of the life. It's a very touching human story, with the moral is how you look at life. The film has won four international awards,” said Mamdouh. “Mission in City Center,” directed by Mohammed Helal, is a film of a group of young people who protect their country. It is a patriotic film. All the crew from cameraman to director are Saudis and the film is a winner of three international awards. “Through the film we want to tell the public two things; Saudis are good filmmakers and no one can put an evil eye on our country and people; our youth are ready to save the country's soil and pride,” said Salem. “This film is also to encourage youth and their patriotic fervor,” he added. He also said that they chose these films “Jeddah Meeting of Cultures” about Jeddah flood to let the people know about the disaster of Jeddah, “Ayesh” they chose to give a touch of humanity. Mamdouh Salem is planning to shoot a new Saudi film which the people can see next year in Asian film festival or in an event like TDEX Arabia. Regarding showing the Saudi films on Rotana TV, he said he will discuss the issue with the authorities. “Minister for Culture and Information Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja is supporting Saudi films through Saudi cultural channel. We can show all Saudi films on the Saudi culture channel, which is a good step to promote Saudi culture and tradition. This will help Saudi films and culture to be promoted, so I urge him to take this step as soon as possible,” he said.
