A shy return to the movies after 30 years

After 30 years of prohibition, a movie was shown in a theater in the capitalof Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.

The local production «Menahi» was shown in a theater in a cultural centermanaged by the government. Men, boys and girls were allowed to attend thisintroduction to the social tradition of movie-going, while adolescent andadult women had to stay at home.

According to the ultra-conservative clerics in power in Saudi Arabia,cultural activities such as movies and concerts ­events where men and womencould socialize – are synonymous with depravity and a danger to Islamicvalues.

The event was approved as an exception and it took 5 months of negotiationsbetween religious authorities and the producer of the film before approvalwas granted.