Dr. Khalid Al Zedjali - An Omani Film Pioneer

By Deeba Hasan

Dr. Khalid Al Zedjali, writer and director of Oman’s first feature film, wants to share his knowledge and skills and inspire students at Bayan College College. Al Zedjali is the assistant director at Oman TV and Film Institute, the main man behind Al Boom, a film released in 2006, and a part-time lecturer at Bayan College.

The down-to-earth Dr. Al Zedjali has used his experience to show the way to many aspiring Omani movie makers and he said he hopes that they will use their talents to the fullest. His said teaching at Bayan College is a new hobby for him and one that might help the film industry.

“I felt that maybe I could do something for the community, to transfer my experience to the new generation,” he said.

From a young age, Dr. Al Zedjali watched a lot of movies, most of them being from Bollywood, which he said people preferred watching for their songs, actors and because they could relate more to the Indian movies because of the language.

Dr. Al Zedjali’s interest in movies developed into a strong passion and he studied film studies abroad to help him understand the film world closely. While in school, Dr. Al Zedjali grew very active in theatre and participated in several plays. He acted on TV, but knew it wasn’t for him. He had a different talent to show to the world, one that took him behind the camera.

He made several TV series for Oman, Kuwait and Egypt, and in 2005 started working on Al Boom. Making a feature film in Oman was not an easy task. Dr. Al Zedjali put in a lot of work for his film and even though he had the idea in mind for a long time, it took awhile to take shape. At that time it was hard to even imagine but he was strongly determined. He wanted to make a mark of his talent and personality in the country.

“It is a story about a fishing village and is about the modern times, not the old days. The people of the village are very innocent, not knowing a lot about the outside world, so when foreign companies bid to take their seaside village to turn it into palatial residential complexes and hotels, they are not aware,” Dr. Al Zedjali said about Al Boom. He said the movie has both funny and sad moments and it is accompanied by purely Omani music. Its message is to tell people not to be greedy and create awareness of the dangers of losing resource-rich lands to foreign occupancy.

“Evacuating people from their own lands where they were born, lived, where they have their memories attached in exchange for some money is not a fair deal,” Dr. Al Zedjali said.

Dr. Al Zedjali also organizes the Muscat Film Festival once every two years and brings celebrities from both Hollywood and Bollywood to add to the glamour to Muscat’s Film scene. For recognizing the local talent, he organizes the Oman Film Meet which is also held every two years. The film scene in Oman is going well, he said. He advises young filmmakers to think of good ideas which have an effect on the society; because he says great ideas make a great film.

“Anyone can do it, even if you face difficulties but you have to think the idea that you are trying to make,” he said.