Local Saudi film productions struggle to secure a niche

By Abd al-Wahab al-Saleh in Riyadh
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-02-19

[RABIH MOGHRABI/AFP/Getty Images] Saudi local TV stations face strict censorship rules, so many actors, directors and writers work abroad.

Saudi drama proved in recent years that it is capable of competing in the Gulf media market.

All Arab and privately-owned channels are now competing for the sole rights of soap operas produced by Saudis abroad.

Abd al-Aziz Al-Semaail, a Saudi script writer, director, actor and former chief of the Culture and Arts Association in the eastern region, told Al-Shorfa that Saudi drama was finding an outlet in Arab channels while shunning the official Saudi TV stations.

"Drama is similar to cinema," he said. "It is an industry, not just a creative process. What applies to industry in terms of conditions, requirements and standards, also applies to drama, which is controlled by the private sector."

"The private sector controls drama productions not only because they are free from a government censor, but also because they pay more to the actors, writers and art production staff. The private sector survives the hefty production costs and the various requirements, as opposed to the bureaucracy, red-tape and frozen systems that govern local television stations because these production companies are owned by the state."

Regarding the obstacles faced by Saudi TV drama, Al-Semaail said, "Saudi TV produces many soap operas that address daily life. However, as an official body, it works, produces and broadcasts within calculated boundaries of censorship that cannot be crossed. Unfortunately, we notice that local production companies have not even succeeded in capitalizing on the margins [of freedom] tolerated by the censor."

Dr Thuraya al-Arid, a Saudi writer and poet, told Al-Shorfa that Saudi drama is going abroad. "First of all, local creativity in drama is still newborn and unrecognised. Secondly, the priorities of change and support have not yet been aimed at acting."

Al-Arid said, "The general preference states that there are more important things and that it is best to stay away from taboos. Thirdly, our entertainment is saturated with imported drama, which is consumerist, tailored to our taste and prepared for a shallow type of entertainment."

Buthayna Al-Nasr, a Saudi journalist and presenter at Al-Hurra channel said, "Saudi TV boils down to a famous quip where all society groups agreed to label it 'Ghasb 1' [compulsion 1] and 'Ghasb 2', in reference to the first and second Saudi TV channels."

Al-Nasr added "We have a scarcity when it comes to producing drama from human resources to the subject matter (the writing of stories and novels that can be produced for TV). We also suffer from a shortage of directors, technicians and professional actors, not amateur ones, let alone the actresses. Actresses cannot become prominent in society and must run away to live and work abroad to avoid being exposed to harm."

Regarding female actresses from other countries, Al-Arid said that "Gulf societies have overtaken ours, which is still leery about a woman's participation and the female presence in public life. We are also apprehensive about keeping pace with time."

Al-Semaail disagrees with Al-Arid, saying that "Saudi actresses are present in local and Gulf drama side by side with actresses from other Gulf countries." He does agree, however, that "Gulf drama has greatly overrun us in terms of the focus on talent and distinction rather than privacy and the identity of the actor."

When asked about the polarization and monopoly of some artists by Arab and private channels, Al-Nasr said, "The financial return may be [the reason]."

She added, "The space for freedom in terms of content and treatment is more flexible abroad than it is in [Saudi Arabia]."

On the topic of screenplay writing, Al-Semaail said, "I do work with local producers and Arab bodies as well because of their presence in the [satellite channel] space. But the absence of an official product has not been favourable to art productions, which became subservient to consumerist standards and to making a profit at the expense of substance."

"And here comes the paradox," Al-Semaail adds, "between the official and privately-owned product: You either give in to the strict censorship or produce something with a totally superficial substance."

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