Saudi Arabia lifts cinema ban after 35 yrs

Riyadh, December 11
Saudi Arabia lifted a 35-year-old ban on cinemas on Monday, prompting celebrations from film fans, directors and movie chains eyeing the mass market in the Middle East.
The first theatres could start showing films as early as March, the government said, part of a liberalising reform drive that has already opened the door to concerts, comedy shows, and women drivers over the past year.
Cinemas were banned in the early 1980s under pressure from Islamists as Saudi society turned towards a particularly conservative form of the religion. But reforms led by 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have eased many of those restrictions, as the government tries to broaden the economy.

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