CAIRO, 9 November 2006 — Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the Sultanate of Oman are the three Arab contestants besides Egypt to participate in the 11-day International Cairo Film Festival, which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 28, the Al-Jazirah newspaper reported yesterday.
The Saudi feature film “Kaif Al-Hal” has been nominated as the sole Saudi entry in the festival. A film called “Al-Boum” is Oman’s entry, and another film called “Ars Al-Dhib” is the Tunisian entry.
“Kaif Al-Hal” grapples with controversial and often taboo subjects in Saudi society, such as a young woman’s secret romance with her western cousin. For the first time ever, the film featured a Saudi actress, Hind Mohammed, who played Duniya, the sister of the main character in the film, Sahar. In Saudi soap operas actresses have always been hired from other Arab countries. Jordanian actress Mais Hamdan plays the role of Sahar, a fashionable wealthy young lady, who is shown unveiled throughout the film.
The film also showed Saudi women driving in the desert far away from the eyes of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Izidore Musallam, a Canadian director of Palestinian origin, directed “Kaif Al-Hal.”
