Those behind the film say they were motivated to reveal the jarring contrast between the Saudi Arabia of the PR campaign and the reality of life in the country.
“It was coming across that Telegraph investigation that really shocked me and made me think there’s such a big difference between what we’re seeing in terms of the publicity around Vision 2030 and the reforms in Saudi Arabia, and the potential for very serious abuses taking place inside the country at the same time,” said Sam Collins, the director.
“It’s almost impossible, I think, to hold those two ideas together in your head at the same time,” he said. “On the one hand, it could be this amazing, forward-thinking, reforming country. But then to see that footage, it flagged up to me how large that discrepancy was.
“We’d heard the allegations about human rights abuses inside the country, but actual footage relating to those abuses is extremely rare, so we were determined to find a way to get in and investigate.”
The filmmakers also challenged the British government, which, in 2014, signed an agreement to help modernise the Saudi Ministry of the Interior that runs the detention centres.
The government refused to give up any information about the programme, saying that it could damage relations between Britain and the Kingdom.
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