DUBAI, March 22: A trailblazing Saudi film featuring the country’s first silver screen actress will be shown this summer everywhere in the Middle East — except Saudi Arabia where cinemas are banned. “Keif al-Hal” (How Are You?) is the first produced by Saudi-owned Arab entertainment company Rotana owned by reform-minded Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

The movie is a comedy-drama which its makers say embodies the tension between moderates and religious extremists and the struggle, especially among the young, to embrace globalisation while retaining cherished Islamic values.

Given the absence of a Saudi movie industry, the film was shot in Dubai. It was directed by a Palestinian-Canadian and its script written by a Lebanese national and an Egyptian.

On a recent sunny afternoon in Dubai, the film’s Saudi associate producer Haifa al-Mansur, 30, sat in an outdoor cafe wearing a purple shirt and jeans with her hair exposed flanked by two Saudi men, an actor and a budding movie critic.

“We were very careful not to show anything offensive to Saudi society to the point we were watching the eyes of the actresses to decide if that is an appropriate look,” said Ayman Halawani, head of production at Rotana’s film division who conceived the film’s idea.

“Keif al-Hal” tells the story of Sultan, played by Saudi heartthrob Hisham Abdulrahman, who was the 2005 winner of the pan-Arab version of the Star Academy talent contest.

Sultan, who lives at his uncle’s home after the death of his parents, is constantly clashing with his pious and ultra-conservative cousin Khaled because of his hip attitude and Western style.

Enter Khaled’s pretty sister Sahar, played by a Jordanian actress.

Saudi actor Meshaal al-Mutairi, who has experience in theatre and television drama, plays an opportunistic character who becomes closer to Khaled and his family by growing a long beard in the style of Osama bin Laden and pretending to be religious while vying for Sahar’s attention.

Sahar escapes the tensions at home by going out with her best friend Dunya, played by first-time Saudi actress Hind Mohammed, 25.

Not wanting to give away the plot, Rotana’s Halawani declined to say if a love story binds Sahar and Sultan but said the movie was free of any romantic dalliances, hand-holding or secret dating.

“The thing that it does not do is say who’s right and who’s wrong... we want to leave it up to the viewers,” he said.—AFP