The poster of animation movie The Journey is shown on a screen ahead of its Hong Kong premiere at Cyberport Arcade, in Hong Kong, Dec 19, 2022. (JAN YUMUL / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG — While Arab countries have grabbed global headlines with their stunning performances during the just-ended World Cup, a groundbreaking film from Saudi Arabia has also stepped foot in the Hong Kong movie market.
The Mandarin-dubbed version of the anime film The Journey made its Hong Kong premiere on Monday in a side event of the Asia MENA Culture Technology Economic Collaboration Forum held at Cyberport.
Co-produced by Saudi Arabia’s Manga Productions, a subsidiary of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Foundation, and Japan's Toei Animation, The Journey is the first-ever animated collaboration between the two Asian countries, and also the first animation made by a Saudi studio
Movie buffs of different ages and ethnicities queued at the Cyberport Arcade cinema, waiting to sit down and enjoy the offbeat work.
When asked what dragged her and her friend to the cinema, Ummu, a 23-year-old Indian teacher said, “We are Muslim, so we can relate to this. We know the background history of this movie, that’s why we are really interested to watch this”.
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Co-produced by Saudi Arabia’s Manga Productions, a subsidiary of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Foundation, and Japan's Toei Animation, The Journey is the first-ever animated collaboration between the two Asian countries, and also the first animation made by a Saudi studio.
Inspired by an Arabian folktale, the movie is set 1,500 years ago in the ancient Arab world, with its protagonist “Aws”, a potter with a hidden past, rising above his doubts with unwavering faith to lead the people of Mecca in a fight against ruthless invaders.
“In 2017, we started this project with a dream. We would like to create world-standard movies. At Manga Productions, we believe that we will make animation, comics, video games,” Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, said in a speech at the forum.
“But our mission is to inspire the hero of tomorrow. We believe in the power of content in shaping the future, of generation, and give them the dream, the power to be the better version of themselves,” Bukhary added.
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Echoing Manga Productions’ ambition for talent cultivation, Fred Wang, Chairman of Salon Films, the distributor of The Journey in Hong Kong, told China Daily that the manga industry in Saudi Arabia is moving forward to a new era with the younger generation.
“Hong Kong should be supporting Saudi Arabia and develop together,” he added.
Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, makes a keynote speech during the Asia MENA Culture Technology Economic Collaboration Forum, at Cyberport Arcade, in Hong Kong, Dec 19, 2022. (JAN YUMUL / CHINA DAILY)
Before landing in Hong Kong, The Journey has also been shown in several countries, including the United States, Malaysia, Japan and Indonesia.
Recalling the project’s starting point, when the company had no office or employees, Bukhary said it was not easy for the team to create such a large-scale production – which involved over 300 crew members – as well as achieving such a satisfying result.
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“The journey between zero to one is longer than the journey from one to one thousand. Our dream is not one thousand, our dream is to go beyond one hundred thousand millions to million and beyond,” he said.