Film: The House of Saud
by Jihan El Tahiri
Documentary, Egypt/France, 2004, 103 min., Engl. ST
How Well Do We Know Saudi Arabia?
The House of Saud by Jihan El Tahiri (documentary, 2004) — Film screening and discussion
Haus der Demokratie und Menschenrechte, Greifswalder Str. 4, 10405 Berlin
15 of the 19 men involved in the 9/11 attack against the New York World Trade Center were Saudis, in other words, they carried the nationality of one of the closest allies of the US. What had motivated them? Neither the Americans nor the Saudis were capable of answering that question. In fact, in order to understand Saudi Arabia you have to turn to its royal family that holds all the codes and the keys. Through the portrait of the Saudi Kings, Jihan El Tahri’s film, traces a historical journey that grapples with four themes propping up the Kingdom until today.
Guest:
Jihan El Tahri is an Egyptian and French film director, writer, visual artist and producer and serves currently as the Artistic manager of DoxBox e.V. She continues to serve as a Mentor at the Documentary Campus in Germany and Ouaga Lab in Burkina Faso. El Tahri started her career as a Foreign Correspondent covering Middle East Politics. Her award winning documentaries include “Nasser”, “Behind the Rainbow”, “ Cuba, an African Odyssey”. Her writings include “Les Sept Vies de Yasser Arafat” (Grasset) and “Israel and the Arabs, the 50 Years war” (Penguin). She exhibited der visual art work in France (Centre Pompidou), Berlin (HKW and IFA Gallery), Norway (National Museum), Mexico (San Ildefonso) and Poland (Moma). El Tahri served as treasurer of the Guild of African Filmmakers in the Diaspora, as Advisor on Focus Feature’s Africa first Program and as Regional Secretary of the Federation of Pan African Cinema (FEPACI). In 2017 she was invited to join the Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Oscars).
In cooperation with Mayadin Al-Tahrir e.V. and Haus der Demokratie und Menschenrechte.