Red Sea Int’l Filmfest Boycotted by Some Arab, Int’l Artists
The film festival opened on Monday despite criticism that Saudi Arabia faces for human rights violations inside and outside the country, “Alkhabaralyemeni.net” reported.
Hanna Ines Flint, a movie critic, says the festival distracts attention from the gross violations of human rights. Sami Khan, a Pakistani director, also believes filmmakers should not help Riyadh whitewash its atrocities.
"As a Muslim director I feel it is my moral duty to call for a boycott of the Red Sea Film Festival given the Khashoggi murder and the Yemen war, as the film community must not allow it to be used by Saudi Arabia to whitewash atrocities," Sami Khan tweeted.
Meanwhile, Syrian director and producer Orwa Nyrabia voices his concern in a Facebook post, adding that Saudi Arabia seeks to but the film industry’s silence by offering career opportunities.
He said he was confident that the improper proposal to throw millions of dollars on the table would not blind everyone and make them support Saudi Arabia.
Madawi Al-Rasheed, the spokesperson of the Opposition National Assembly Party, asked whether the festival will put on display “the Dissident” documentary.
“The Dissident” is a documentary about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
