RIYADH: To mark Saudi National Day, the Kingdom’s smart city project NEOM has released a short film celebrating the Kingdom’s national anthem.

Directed by Saudi filmmaker Mohammed AlMulla, the 90-second film is titled “A Home for Dreamers,” in keeping with this year’s National Day theme of “We Dream and We Achieve.” It pays homage to the Kingdom’s progress over the years by exploring the significance of its national anthem and the ways in which it continues to deeply resonate with the Saudi people.

“We consider the national anthem as a symbol of Saudi Arabia’s values and history, while also instilling a deep sense of pride within our people,” AlMulla told Arab News in an exclusive interview.

The aim of the film is to “showcase this national unity and the preservation of our historical and cultural roots,” he added, but doing so was no easy task.

“Introducing the personality of the nation’s poet, Ibrahim Khafaji, and focusing on showing his importance behind the construction of and writing of the Saudi national anthem was challenging,” he explained.

“Embodying his character on the ground and building a character like him was one of the most prominent challenges, so we opted to use a specially made mask for a close and accurate visual representation.”

Saudi National Day, which is celebrated each year on Sept. 23, commemorates the founding of the country on that day in 1932 when King Abdulaziz issued a decree that renamed the Kingdom of Najd and the Hejaz as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

AlMulla said that not only does National Day offer an opportunity to celebrate the nation’s achievements, culture, history and values, it is also a time for its people to express “love, loyalty and devotion” to their country. The occasion “often evokes feelings of pride in one’s country and a sense of belonging to a larger community,” he added, and it was therefore important that the creative force behind the film was Saudi, he said.

Citing the country’s rich cultural heritage and distinctive traditions, AlMulla said: “By having a Saudi team lead the production, there was a higher likelihood of capturing the authentic spirit, values and nuances of the celebration.

“Saudi filmmakers have an inherent understanding of the local customs, traditions, and sensitivities, which can contribute to a more authentic representation of the National Day celebration.”

The entertainment sector in the Kingdom has changed and developed in many ways over the past few years, and asked about the biggest changes in the Saudi film industry in particular, AlMulla said: “We can see a significant increase in film production in Saudi Arabia. Local filmmakers have been able to produce and release their films in theaters, allowing for the growth of the Saudi film industry.

“This has also attracted international filmmakers and production companies to collaborate with Saudi talent and work on projects within the country.”

The Kingdom’s film industry has experienced remarkable growth since Saudi Vision 2030, the national development and diversification plan, was announced in 2016. Cinemas reopened in the country in 2018 after an absence of 35 years, and figures from the Ministry of Commerce show that the nation’s cinema industry grew by 30 percent in the second quarter of 2023 compared with the same period the previous year