Ayman Halawani, now known as Richard Halawani, is an American entrepreneur, film producer and was head of production at Rotana's film division.
Ayman says that not only are there no public cinemas in the kingdom, but there is only a small film-making industry, concentrating on short films and documentaries.
Partly it is a simple matter of studio space but he says that even more importantly there is no body of skilled technicians to call on.
He says that Rotana wants to change all that and this film is only the start of a campaign to do so.
Ayman says there need be no intrinsic religious or cultural objection to films in Saudi Arabia, although he acknowledges that care needs to be taken in choosing themes.