Yemen to combat terrorism through movies

A scene from the movie which tackles the issue of terrorism in Yemen which is an international phenomenon.

The cinema movies will be a new method to combat terrorism from now on, said the Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, Rashad Al Alimi, in an opening ceremony of the first Yemeni film on terrorism.

The 105-minute film portrays how terrorists recruit poor, unemployed, and school drop outs to be potential suicide bombers under the name of “defenders of the religion and nation”.

“The film deals with a very important issue which is to uproot the malignant seed of terrorism, and also educate people about its ideas that have nothing to do with Islam and Yemeni traditions,” said Fadhel Al Olofi, director of the film, in the opening.

“The film, The Losing Bet, comes in the framework of a strategic security plan for fighting terrorism. It gives a clear picture on the causes of terrorism, and also raises awareness about the dangers of terrorism in society,” said Rashad Al Alimi.

Al-Alimi said that the Yemeni government is doing many things to overcome this serious problem. “We have published two books about terrorism. This film is one of the means to deliver our message to all people and reach our goal of fighting terrorism. Such film can have a real impact on people.” 

In the film, the 14-year old Yemeni girl, Shayma, forms an excellent friendship with the European tourist Maria, in her 20s, at one of the tourist sites near the city of Sana’a.

Shayma, who became the only supporter of her poor family after her brother joined an armed group calling Jihad, was very famous for her languages skills she learned from tourists. Shayma is not only an actor in the film, but she also works as a tourist guide and speaks English, French, Spanish and Italian. 

While Maria and Shayma’s friendship grew, a group of terrorists including Shayma’s brother were planning to kill tourists “to get closer to Allah”.

Despite the fact that Maria was injured and lost her father in a suicide bombing that targeted a group of tourists, her friendship with Shayma, who lost also her brother in the same incident, continued.

“Will you come back again to Yemen, Maria?” Shayma asked.

“Yes, I will. My father loved Yemen. And I love it too,” Maria answered at the end of the film.

The film, which cost the government about 10 million Yemeni rials, took three months time for shooting in Thala, Shebam Kawkaban, Marib and Sana’a. It was directed by Fathel Al Olofi and produced by Rosana in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and Yemeni Satellite channel.
 
The script was authored by Mohammed Al Hubaishi, and Abdul Kareek Al Ashmouri. The Yemeni actors, Nabil Hezam, Abdul Kareem Al Eshmouri, Ahmed Abdullah Hussein and Adel Samanan, Sherouq participated in the film.

The opening ceremony of the film was attended by senior state officials, Arab and non-Arab diplomats, leaders of the Yemeni security agencies. The film will be shown in schools and colleges before being shown on television channels.

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