For nearly a decade, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman — known as “MBS” — has been shaking up all the foundations of this extraordinary kingdom. As the world’s leading oil exporter and the cradle of Islam, Saudi Arabia is being radically transformed in the name of the existential challenge of the post-oil era. This Gulf giant, where two-thirds of the population is under 30, has embarked on an unprecedented overhaul.
This film offers a rare immersion into a nation in flux and a groundbreaking investigation into the inner workings and contradictions of the Crown Prince’s ambitious — and controversial — “Vision 2030.” Aspiring to lead a stable and prosperous Arab world, MBS is working to turn austere, ultraconservative Saudi Arabia into a futuristic utopia where tourism, entertainment, and extravagance coexist with authoritarianism and repression — particularly of dissidents and women — despite the sidelining of the religious police.
Supporters, critics, and key insiders paint a gripping portrait of this future-facing Saudi Arabia, a land suspended between utopia and dystopia, which may well reshape the face of the Middle East.
