Cinema: Born a king, before Saudi Arabia, there was the young Faisal

It was to be the first film to be shown on a big screen when Saudi cinemas opened. Born a King, producer Vicente Gomez’s new film, will finally be screened on September 26 in the theatres of the Middle East and North Africa. The work of Spanish director Agustí Villaronga, which reveals little-known events in Saudi Arabian history, tells the story of a young 13-year-old king, Faisal Al-Saoud, during his diplomatic mission to the United Kingdom in 1919.

“There are many stereotypes about the country. If the film will surprise the Saudis, then imagine the European or American reactions”

A Saudi film

Although the film is not a Saudi production, Vicente Gomez still wanted to work jointly with Saudis. The producer thus chose to surround himself with a Saudi novelist in the writing of the film’s script. “I started writing the script and went to a Saudi novelist, Badr Al-Samary, who helped and guided me through the first steps of the story,” he explained.

Shot between London and Riyadh for seven weeks, it is in Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahad’s farm in Diriyah that most of the shots were taken. The film crew was composed of 200 crew members, half of whom were Saudi.

Available in Arabic and English, the film may even soon be available in the Netflix catalogue with which the production is in discussion.