8 questions with Saudi filmmaker Moe Alatawi

Your first feature film, 'Within Sand', premiered at the Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF), won the Jury Prize last year, and has just been released in Saudi cinemas. Why did you feel compelled to make it?

My sister told me about this almost folkloric guy who lived in Saudi in the 1920s, who got lost in the desert and a wolf started following him. I wanted to do something cinematic on it immediately. The lead actor was crucial for developing it. I found a guy who lives in a village in northern Saudi. He had the accent, and he knew the environment. He’d never acted before, but he was interested in reading the script. Three days later, he calls me and he’s like: “There’s something that I didn’t like.” And I was like: “What is it? Is it the wolf?” And he’s like: “No, no, I’m not worried about the wolf. There’s a scene with a woman. And I’ve never acted in front of a woman.” He was the right guy for the part!

'Within Sand' was the first Saudi film shot in NEOM. What was the most surprising thing about shooting there?

I was shocked by the number of different locations in NEOM: there’s sea, mountains, desert. The team there was extremely supportive in terms of logistics and financial support. They wanted to support it as the first Saudi film to shoot there.

What element of the film are you most proud of?

The fact it was produced by Reem Alatawi and Jana Dahlawi, who were the first Saudi female producers to direct a feature film. Also, 90% of all the actors are first-time Saudi actors. We had a four-month period before the shoot to train them, to get a sense of intensity in their performances. That’s the main thing: we want to get new faces into the industry.

• 

• 

As a Saudi filmmaker, how important has RSIFF become in its first three years?

Before Within Sand was shot, it was developed with the Red Sea. Then the second year, it won the Jury Prize. For the third year, I have a TV show that I’m developing with Red Sea. So, every year, I’ve had a connection with it. If they see artists or filmmakers, they push them to where they want to go, and they’re doing this sort of collaboration with people from the Arab world and the Middle East in general, which is incredible. Having an industry within the region that has the capacity to be universal is key.

Tell us about the TV series you're working on.

We’ve been working on it for a few years. I’m collaborating with a Lebanese American writer called Danny Arbid. We took a period in the Abbasid empire, the golden age of Islam. There is a true story that we felt is very interesting: the mysticism within it is insane. It talks about the Islamic and Arab culture specifically in a way that we’ve never seen or heard before.

• 

What advice would you give to other young filmmakers?

The key is having a script. Knowing how to tell a story is the main thing. It has to be very organic; you can’t force it. And read your contracts before you sign anything!

What's on your must-see list at the festival this year?

Norah, because the director Tawfik Alzaidi is a good friend of mine and it’s his first feature. Also, Mandoob by Ali Kalthami looks very interesting. I’ll watch as many as I can because the competition is very, very high this year and that’s the fun of it.

Final Question: Are you still in touch with the wolf?

The wolf has retired – that was his last film. We have a lot of framed photos of him. He did a great job. He’s now living in Hungary. And yeah, he’s good.