It’s very for a Saudi Arabian Film to be screened at a major film festival. However, Mahmoud Sabbagh’s directorial film ‘Barakah yoqabil Barakah’ was screened at Berlin International Film Festival won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.
Screened in the Forum section of the Berlinale film fest, the director’s debut Feature film was a romantic comedy, a coming-of-age story, a look at the challenges of romance in Saudi.
The film tells the story of a civil servant from Jeddah who has a chance meeting with the adopted daughter of a rich couple. In spite of their different backgrounds, the duo forms friendship, which is not easy in a country where the activities of Women are strictly controlled.
Public film screenings were outlawed in Saudi in the 1970s when the powerful religious establishment took a stand against cinema.
But, Sabbagh claimed that the availability of Video-on-demand in Saudi Arabia made the makers confident that the majority of Saudi people will see this film.