Spike Lee's 'Malcolm X' FINALLY screens in Saudi Arabia 30 years after landmark filming in Mecca
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA: Spike Lee’s brilliantly executed autobiographical movie ‘Malcolm X’ is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time and received universal acclaim when it was released in theatres in 1992. Denzel Washington gave a splendid performance in the movie that was based on the life of the renowned African-American activist Malcolm X. Apart from being an extraordinary movie, ‘Malcolm X’ achieved a monumental feat that none of the movies of that era could. The autobiographical film is the first non-documentary movie and the first American film that was given permission to shoot in the holy city of Mecca. However, it took Lee 30 years to screen the movie in Saudi Arabia and the historic moment came during the Red Sea International Film Festival.
In the movie, Washington’s character comments that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was the product of white violence after which Malcolm X was stopped from talking to the press. In early 1964, Malcolm X went on a pilgrimage to Mecca where he meets Muslims of all races. However, the character has lost all his faith in Islam and announces that he is starting a foundation called the ‘Organization of Afro-American Unity’, which teaches about how to be tolerant. That entire bit was shot in Mecca and after a long wait of 30 years, the film has finally made it to Saudi Arabia.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 65-year-old filmmaker landed in Saudi Arabia to introduce his movie to the people of the aforementioned country at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah. While talking at the press conference held before the movie, Lee opened up about filming it in Mecca and why it was so important for him to shoot it there.
During the conversation, the director also noted that it was important to show Malcolm X’s participation in Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, and how he was not allowed to travel to the Holy City because of not being a Muslim. So, how did he shoot the movie? Well, Lee revealed how it was done.
“We made the first film that was ever allowed to bring a camera into the holy city of Mecca during Hajj. Of course, I hired a full Muslim camera crew. The highest Islamic court didn’t agree to this because of me, but because they realized how important Malcolm X was for Islam. We were blessed. Yesterday we came full circle,” Lee said during the press conference.
The government of Saudi Arabia closed all cinema and theatre as a political response to an increase in Islamist activism. The decision was taken after the 1979 terrorist attack on Mecca’s Grand Mosque. People would travel to places such as Bahrain or UAE to watch their favorite movies and enjoy public entertainment. However, in 2017, the country lifted a 35-year ban on commercial theatres and people were able to see movies like ‘Black Panther,' ‘The Emoji Movie,' and many more.
In the press conference, he reiterated that Washington should have won Best Actor at the Academy Awards for the movie, instead of Al Pacino (‘Scent of a Woman’).
‘Malcolm X’ received two nominations at the Oscars and went on to win accolades at several awards ceremonies. The movie earned more than $73 million globally.