''Cinema 500 km'' ( ar, السينما 500 كم) is a 2006

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

and was directed by Abdullah Al-Eyaf. The film depicts the experiences of Tariq Al-Husaini, a 21-year-old Saudi movie fan despite no

cinemas A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

and are available only on home video in Saudi Arabia. Al-Husaini is shown applying for a passport and traveling 500 kilometers to

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

to see a movie in a cinema for the first time. Abdullah Al-Eyaf secured permission from the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information to shoot this documentary. The film premiered at the Emirates Film Competition in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

in 200

but due to the lack of cinemas in Saudi Arabia there are no plans yet to show the film in its home country.

External links

* Abdullah Al-Eyaf *
Saudi Arabian film shows theaterless kingdom
, Associated Press, MSNBC.com, April 28, 2006.
'Cinema 500 km' — a Film About Watching a Film
, Raid Qusti, Arab News, March 22, 2006. 2006 films 2006 documentary films 2000s Arabic-language films Documentary films about the film industry Films set in a movie theatre Films set in Bahrain Films set in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian documentary films {{arts-documentary-film-stub