Grants & Awards

About the Film:

There is a vibrant youth culture developing on the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia has one of the youngest populations on earth, with approximately 60% of it citizens under the age of 21. This special for MTV Networks introduces Saudi youth that have hopes and dreams not unlike those of young Americans–yet face unimaginable challenges just to express themselves. The subjects include a rock band who encounters enormous obstacles to play live, a unique young woman who questions Saudi society’s insistence that women wear black abaya robes, a political activist who openly speaks out for democratic change and a hopeless romantic who just wants to find true love…but is forbidden from trying. The film offers an authentic look at the young men and women in Saudi Arabia that are curious about the world around them and hungry for change. Through their honest and passionate portraits, audiences experience the formidable hurdles to change a country steeped deeply in strict Islamic beliefs and ancient traditions.

About the Filmmakers:

In 2007 Ewing and Grady were nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature for Jesus Camp, a candid look at Pentecostal children in America. The film received a wide theatrical release and was broadcast in over 60 countries worldwide. Previously, the team was nominated for an Emmy for The Boys of Baraka, a film about preteens struggling to make it in Baltimore city. Ewing and Grady’s most recent documentary, 12th & Delaware, about America’s abortion battle, premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on HBO.  They were also part of a team of all-star filmmakers who adapted the bestselling book Freakonomics into a feature length documentary, to be released in theaters.  They are currently in production on Detroit Hustles Harder, Detroit City and its struggle to transform itself into a new and innovative place.