these are made by young cutting edge film directors, of which there are many in riyadh, and they are creating tv series and movies that are very clearly critical of rich saudis, possibly the royals, although that is a little bit less obvious. they explore, you know, the repressed sexuality. they are using the medium to express themselves in a way that i think might be quite surprising to western audiences. interesting. you mentioned just then, the murder ofjamal khashoggi, that was only a few years ago and there was outcry across the media, across the world, many parts of the world about that. are western media companies not seeing any pushback for their engagement with saudi arabia? very, very little.
there is a lot going on in saudi arabia which involves western media companies, entertainment companies, and they appear to have turned the page. sanam vakilfrom chatham house, a good point to bring you in. are you surprised there is not more pushback, given what happened with khashoggi? i think there was this two year lull where mbs and the kingdom receded, they tried to take a back seat, not be so public, and work on domestic issues. so, that is what we have been sort of witnessing over this two year period, and with the sale of newcastle, i think this is a sort of signal that people are willing to turn the page, and as vivienne described, with so many companies still looking for markets, western companies have not been
implications, in terms of what they are seeing? does it give the saudis any editorial sway in what netflix views are seeing? we see tiny bits of that and i would say, unlike whatjim was saying, i think one of the major effects is a kind of.the hesitation that western producers have now. can they.um. can they create something that is very critical of the saudis without risking losing their shirt in the process? there was one instance which, of the documentary called the dissident made by an oscar winning film director, it came out injanuary last year, it could not get distribution because it was about the murder ofjamal khashoggi. it took a very long time for that documentary to be picked up by anybody.
and in fact, khashoggi s murder which happened exactly three years ago came only six months after the crown prince and nbs did this major trip around new york and silicon valley and la and had dinner with all the major movie stars and directors and the major tech giants of silicon valley. they were in deals in the works. six month later, khashoggi was murdered. and there was a freeze for about a year or two. but i would say that that s pretty much behind the saudis, and you have what is now the kind of schizophrenic experience where, you know, six flags, the amusement park company, the biggest amusement park company in the world is building a huge amusement park outside riyadh. there is a film festival about to happen, i believe next month injeddah.
ambition have become eroded at this but the club. there is another side of all this. we were standing here a few hours ago when a truck with a picture ofjamal khashoggi drove past. western intelligence agencies believe he was killed at the behest of the crown prince, something which is denied. when the truck went past one or two fans did not appreciate it and bid. 0thers one or two fans did not appreciate it and bid. others feel a deep sense of discomfort about their club s connections to saudi arabia and all that underlines despite the huge sense of celebration here, it still is very controversial takeover and a controversial day in the premier league. controversial day in the premier lea . ue. . ., , controversial day in the premier leaaue. , ., ., controversial day in the premier leaaue. .. , ., ., ., league. newcastle are training at the moment. league. newcastle are training at the moment, 2-1 league. newcastle are training at the moment, 2-1 in league. newcastle are training