Best Saudi documentary movies

Of Fathers and Sons (2017)

Talal Derki returns to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses on Osama and his younger brother Ayman, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up in an Islamic Caliphate.

Sound of Torture (2013)

Swedish-Eritrean radio host Meron Estefanos produces her weekly program at home in Stockholm where she broadcast, devoted entirely to the hundreds of Eritrean refugees held hostage in the Egyptian Sinai Desert. The Bedouins kidnap Eritreans making their way to Israel and demand large ransoms from their families. We follow Meron in her attempts to turn the tide by calling the hostages and kidnappers alike during her radio show. The film focuses on the stories of two hostages: A) Hiriyti was pregnant when she got kidnapped. We hear the young woman talking with her husband Amaniel in Tel Aviv, who is doing everything he can to free his wife and their baby from the torture camp. B) The ransom for 20-year-old Timnit has been paid, but her brother haven't heard anything from her since her flight to the Egyptian-Israeli border. The battle for Hiriyti's release and the search for Timnit takes Meron to Sinai. There, she stumbles on the marks left by the many atrocities.

My Love Awaits Me By the Sea (2013)

Hasan Hourani, a Palestinian poet and illustrator, died aged 29 in Jaffa while trying to rescue his nephew from the sea. Shortly after, the filmmaker Mais Darwazah discovers his drawings and poems and feels drawn to Hourani's world— a universe outside space and time; a place of wonder, discovery, and freedom. Motivated by this kinship, Darwazah embarks on a journey to her homeland, Palestine: a place she has never known.

Upon the Shadow (2017)

We discover the mysterious side of Amina Sboui (former Femen) and her daily life. Her friends of the LGBT community, who live at her home, have been rejected by their families and the society. Through out Amina, we dive into their stories: Sandra (transvestite), Ramy (gay), Ayoub (gay), Atef (gay and transvestite). Many unexpected events keep coming and caught live…

The Last Winter (2023)

A short documentary about the adventure of two Saudi filmmakers who travel through the snows of Northern Europe to chase their dream during a pivotal period in their artistic careers.

Saudi Arabia Uncovered (2016)

English reporter and documentarian, James Jones, in partnership with brave rebel Saudi Arabian undercover reporters, risk themselves under the laws of the land under the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), sometimes referred to the Islamic Religious Police. All this, in an effort to uncover the purpose and truth of the laws enforced by the immensely questioned Saudi Arabian government. You will see the side of Saudi Arabia that its government forbids from recording or viewing by their law and discover the harsh punishment for disobedience in the modern Saudi Arabia world.

Rain (2017)

While her father was in his deathbed, she and her nieces were playing in the rain.

Horizon (2024)

From the turtles of the Farasan Islands to the ibex that dot the Asir Mountains, this documentary captures Saudi Arabia's diverse wildlife and scenery.

First Feature (2018)

Working underground in the year before the legalization of cinema in Saudi Arabia, a team of mostly women makes its first feature film. Anonymous accounts of their experience are brought together in a melancholic narration. In the spirit of first films, a filmmaker documents the production in Jeddah with his first video camera from childhood.

Ehsan from El Medina (2019)

Ahmed Shukairi's visit to Medina takes on a different character, where he tries to explore the great efforts that have been made to develop it while preserving its heritage at the same time.

Ehsan from the Haram (2018)

Lift Like a Girl (2020)

An intimate journey into the inner life of an aspiring athlete and the female weightlifting community of Alexandria. For 4 years, Zebiba goes through victories and defeats, including major losses that shape her, as she finds her way from dust to gold.

Yalla Parkour (2024)

When filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter lost her Palestinian mother, she lost her connection to Gaza. With all the memories from her childhood destroyed, she sets out on a quest to connect with a young man she sees in a video doing parkour among ruins in Gaza. With Ahmad as her guide, she explores life in Gaza, and rebuilds her memories of her mother and her childhood. In this time when Gaza and its people are being devastated every day, here’s a portrait of a tormented city and the perseverance of its people.

Massacre (2005)

Interviews with six of the mass murderers from Sabra and Shatilla. The faces are in black and are not identifiable.

Possessed by Djinn (2015)

Sparked by the true story of Aya, a four-year-old Jordanian girl killed by her father because he believed her to be possessed, filmmaker Dalia Al Kury launches a fascinating investigation into a controversial and little-known aspect of Islamic culture: belief in djinn. The djinn are believed to be supernatural creatures that occupy a parallel world to ours and their emergence is associated with sexuality, political unrest, poverty and mental illness. The taboo subject of demonic possession remains broadly unresolved in the hearts and minds of some Muslims due to its complex and uncomfortable nature. Using a subjective, “undercover” style, Al Kury journeys into the obscure world of exorcists and the possessed, confronting their traditions and rituals. It makes for a telling ghost story that bares the filmmaker’s and her society’s subconscious underbelly.

Legna (2014)

"Legna: speak the Saharawi verse" is an audiovisual poetry story that traces the essential elements of the Saharawi culture, chaining the verses recited in a rigorous and evocative way in Hasania and Spanish by the poets and poetesses themselves. Poems that sing and evoke the essence of Bedouin material culture linked to the movement from Saquia el Hamra to Rio de Oro. A magical journey from the Draa River in the north to Agüenit and Leyuad on the southern border with Mauritania, from the coast with the white beaches of Bojador up to the vague boundaries of the Badia. A Saharawi national territory marked by the trace of the recent history of revolution, war, resistance (intifada) and waiting. Territory, history, culture, basted from poetry full of life, love and nostalgia.

They Do Not Exist (1974)

Shooting under extraordinary conditions, the director, who worked with Godard on his "Ici et Ailleurs" ("Here and Elsewhere") - this film was shot on the same 16mm camera - and founded the PLO's film division, covers conditions in Lebanon's refugee camps, the effects of Israeli bombardments, and the lives of guerrillas in training camps. "They Do Not Exist" is a stylistically unique work which explodes at the intersection between the political and the aesthetic.

One Day in the Haram (2017)

The story of the Haram in Makkah, a place so revered that non-Muslims are forbidden from even setting foot in it. Every year millions of pilgrims come from all over the world to visit this holy city.

We Are All for the Fatherland (1979)

After the 1978 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, children try to sing the national anthem as citizens search for hope in the war-torn South.

Ehsan from the Future (2020)

After a series of thoughts that we were pleased with, we publish here today on your site the content of Plus, the first episodes of the Ihsan from the Future program for the famous presenter Ahmed Al Shugairi, the dates of the replay, and the date of the presentation of the first and second part of the Ihsan Al Mustakbal program, which preacher Ahmed Al Shugairi returns to MBC screen.

Captains of Za'atari (2021)

Like many young people around the world, best friends Fawzi and Mahmoud are obsessed with soccer. But for the past several years, the teenagers have been stuck in Zaatari, the world’s largest camp for Syrian refugees, located in Jordan. With uncertain legal status and an interrupted education, their prospects are limited. On the local soccer pitch, however, they can imagine a brighter future as professional athletes, a path to escaping the camp and providing for their families. When scouts from a world-renowned Qatari sports academy visit Zaatari, Fawzi and Mahmoud believe they might be able to realize their dreams—if given the opportunity.

Seagull of Arabia (2022)

The biography of Youssef Yassine, the advisor to the founding king, who confronted the Ottomans, the British and the French and lived believing in Arab unity.

Extravagance (2022)

Battle of the Baddest (2024)

The fight that turned sport on its head. In a historic match up, we present an unprecedented look behind the scenes to explore how the match between Boxing's World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury and the former UFC-Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou was made, fought and ultimately won. A real David and Goliath story with drama only sport can write. From learning about how a small boy from Cameroon escaped life in the sand mines to become UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world, to how a small boy from Morecambe Bay became one of the most inspirational faces on the planet - this is a story of two very different icons who put it all on the line in front of the world in an event that changed the game forever.

Eyes (2016)

A short documented visit to the ophthalmologist by Anhar Salem

A Great Trip to a Small Country (2020)

Through the years and from a very intimated point of view, this is the story of the adaptation process of two Syrian refugee's families to a faraway country called Uruguay, they completely disown.

Tahrir 2011 : The Good and The bad and The Politician (2011)

Months after Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Egyptians country-wide seem determined to maintain the insurgency until their demands are met.

Thirst (2004)

Life begins to change for a family of five living in the middle of nowhere when water is illegally diverted onto their land

Two Guitars (2016)

Two guitars, the 24th underground short film made by the Saudi female filmmaker: Anhar Salem.

Life After The Fall (2008)

Life After the Fall is a unique insight into modern day Iraq, eloquently portrayed by Iraqi director Kasim Abid, who returned to his native country shortly after the fall of Saddam following an absence of 30 years. Shot over five years, this film shows the director reuniting with his family in 2003. They had survived dictatorship, war and sanctions and were ready for change.