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Presenting the Middle East and North Africa premiere of Juan Woo‘s”Silent Night” in it Red Sea Film Festivalactor Joel Kinnaman he emphasized the rare opportunity for “everyone in the world to see the same movie.” The actor is referring to the fact that Woo’s first American film in 20 years does not feature any language (i.e. no spoken language) and therefore does not need subtitles.
The characters in the revenge thriller do not have a single line of dialogue throughout the film, and the only fragments of speech come from diegetic music, some brief radio broadcasts, and telephone messages.
Talking with Variety In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Swede said he had a suspicion from the beginning that the film would translate in a way that “no other film does.”
“I grew up watching subtitled movies but there is always a nuance in the language that is lost. You can still get the experience, but some of the nuances are off. (In ‘Silent Night’) this does not happen. “You’re watching the same movie as everyone else as it’s told visually.” Because of this ease of access, the star said she felt the film would be more important internationally than in the United States.
Kinnaman is in Jeddah not only to promote his latest film, but also as part of the Red Sea Film Festival competition jury, alongside president Baz Luhrmann and fellow actors Freida Pinto, Amina Khalil and Paz Vega. “It’s been interesting,” she said of the experience. “We have just begun our duties as a jury, but sitting down to watch these films with such intensity from a region where I had only seen a few films has been incredible.”
“Having conversations with the incredible members of the jury, talking about cinema with Baz Luhrmann and Freida Pinto and listening to their contributions about the films… I learned a lot,” concluded the actor, adding that he considers the rapid development of the film industry “exciting” Saudi .”
“I think this cultural mix is incredibly important for the entire region and the world. There are people in the West who still don’t realize that and don’t want to associate themselves (with the region) until things are perfect. “I think it’s a very backwards way of looking at things and it’s shortsighted, not understanding the impact of the Middle East in general and what’s happening here.”
The actor was recently scheduled to shoot his first feature film in Saudi Arabia, Neill Blomkamp’s alien abduction thriller “They Found Us.” The film, which was in its pre-production stage, was scheduled to take place in the sprawling Saudi region of Neom, but was paused in October to rework the project’s financial structure. Hollywood productions have already begun making the journey to Saudi Arabia, with Rupert Wyatt’s “Desert Warrior,” starring Anthony Mackie and Ben Kingsley filmed in Neom, and Gerard Butler’s action vehicle “Kandahar” filmed entirely in AlUla .
“It’s clear that the efforts being made are genuine,” Kinnaman said of the country’s burgeoning film industry. “They have resources to build studios and create opportunities for international projects to come. Of course, they are going to need education at the local level to create a base that these larger productions can draw from, because when you have a big project you have to bring in the entire team from outside and it becomes more expensive.”
When asked if we could expect to see him in Saudi Arabia more often in the near future, the actor was adamant: “I wouldn’t be surprised. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all.”
