Bridging Cultures in a Changing City: Fatima Al-Banawi's Basma and Mahmoud Sabbagh's Barakah Meets Barakah

Following the recent changes in the laws in Saudi Arabia, Fatima Al-Banawi's Basma (2024), exposes the viewer to a transformed Jeddah. The film depicts a city that not only embraces its Arab background but is also welcoming of others. In the film, the main character can move between diverse cultures with ease. In addition, Basma who is pursuing her studies in the USA, and after the lifting of Covid travel restrictions, she returns to her city and learns that her father suffers from mental health issues, a subject rarely discussed in Arab film. In contrast to Mahmoud Sabbagh's 2016 film, Barakah Meets Barakah, the city in which Basma traverses is a place that is accessible, allowing freedom of movement and socialization in the public sphere for its residents. Sabbagh's film, meanwhile, exposes the challenges that young people faced in this Red Sea port city. Essentially, public space was often denied and restricted, as when the two main characters search for venues in which they could meet. In this paper, I propose to compare the depiction of Jeddah and the portrayal of its people through these two films, arguing how Al-Banawi's directional debut feature, which was supported by the Red Sea International Film Festival, provides a portrait of a city and a people, who navigate different cultures, spaces and worlds with ease.