The King of the Sands

"The film, King of the Sands, was screened in the Syrian capital last Friday after being denounced by Prince Talal Bin-Abd-al-Aziz for "distorting a great historical figure", the Arabian Business website reports. It tells the story of the rise of late King Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud, also known as Ibn Saud, and the foundation of the Saudi kingdom in early 20th Century. The film, directed by Syrian Najdat Anzour, had its first showing in London last September, and is one of the first feature films to tackle the character of Ibn Saud, played by Italian actor Fabio Testi. The feature is controversial in Saudi eyes because of the way it portrays Ibn Saud as "an unscrupulous, bloodthirsty womaniser who was a pawn of the British",Iranian Press TV reported earlier this year." (thanks Basim)