'Kingdom of Silence': Release date, plot, cast, and all you need to know about Showtime docu on Jamal Khashoggi
On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi Arabian dissident and journalist-in-exile, was reported missing after his visit to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. It was not revealed until later that Khashoggi had, in fact, been assassinated by a 15-member squad of Saudi assassins. Details of Khashoggi's horrifying assassination soon emerged -- he was ambushed, suffocated and dismembered. Khashoggi had been lured to the consulate on the pretext of providing him with papers for his upcoming nuptials.
Khashoggi came from a prominent Saudi Arabian family -- his grandfather, Muhammad Khashoggi, was a medical doctor to the Saudi royal family. However, his family's close ties to the Sauds did not stop him from being outspoken against the regime and advocating for freedom of speech and women's rights. He criticized Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen and the Qatar-blockage by the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) led by Saudi Arabia. In 2017, Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia and went into self-imposed exile.
On the second anniversary of Khashoggi's disappearance and death this year, Showtime is set to release a documentary on Khashoggi that also goes into the ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States. Read on to know more details about the film.
Release date
'Kingdom of Silence' will air on Showtime on Friday, October 2, at 9/8c.
Plot
'Kingdom of Silence' is a political thriller examining the complex relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and how the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi amplified entanglements between the two countries.
According to Showtime's statement, the synopsis of the movie is: "With the killing of Khashoggi as a launching point, 'Kingdom of Silence' will explore the history between the US and Saudi Arabia in the decades leading up to today’s troubling interactions between the Trump administration and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In the process, the film shines new light on Khashoggi’s remarkable journey – from the battlefields of Afghanistan to the halls of power in Riyadh and Washington, from the Arab Spring to the rise of Saudi Arabia’s new Crown Prince."
Director
Rick Rowley
Rick Rowley is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker known for his documentary films such as 'Dirty Wars', '16 Shots' and 'This Is What Democracy Looks Like'.
Producers
'Kingdom of Silence' is executive-produced by Alex Gibney in collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright, Stacey Offman, and Richard Perello. Samuel Black and Trevor Davidoski at Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions serve as producers.
Trailer
If you like this, you'll love these:
'The Dissident'
'Frontline Death of a Princess'
'Saudi Arabia Uncovered'
'Saudi Women's Driving School'
'A Sinner in Mecca'
