‘Journey to Mecca’ documentary premieres in Riyadh

King Abdulaziz Public Library announced the documentary “Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta” screened at Almakan Mall in Riyadh on Monday.

General Supervisor of KAPL Faisal bin Abdulrahman bin Muammar said: “This new cultural shift, which is consistent with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the directions of the Ministry of Culture, is based on investing in various modern cultural and cognitive elements in order to provide a new intellectual awareness that connects us to the eras relating to our ancient Arab and Islamic heritage.

“The documentary film is considered one of the most important international films, and planning for its production began in 2004. It was produced by an international group and investors from the Kingdom and a number of Islamic countries.”

The production, which has been in the works for almost 20 years, was supervised by KAPL in cooperation with King Faisal Center for Islamic Studies and Research and a number of government agencies, with the goal to enhance worldwide understanding of Islam, highlighting its true form, essence, and meaning.

Bin Moammar said that “the film allows Muslims who have not had the opportunity to perform the Hajj rituals to view it on the giant screen,” creating an immersive experience for viewers.

Hajj is one the five pillars of Islam and is performed by adults.

The film, premiering for the first time in Riyadh in IMAX, explores Hajj rituals through the real-life journey of historic traveler, explorer and scholar Ibn Battuta from Morocco to Makkah.

The 45-minute documentary, which features 6,000 photographs, was shot in several locations, including ports of arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the Grand Mosque in Makkah, and other holy sites.

Part of the film was also filmed in Morocco along Ibn Battuta’s journey.

The documentary’s crew included over 80 people and used a new, unique computer-aided technique to capture the time lapse of Hajj rituals.

These shots were noted by film labs in California as some of the most captivating to have ever been produced.

The film was screened in several other capitals cities across the globe, including Paris, London, Singapore, New York, Jakarta, and Dubai, achieving a number of international cinema awards, including at the Houston, Boston, and Paris film festivals.

The documentary has also been translated into a number of languages including French, Russian, Turkish and English.