Australian director Phillip Noyce shoots feature film for Saudi Arabia celebrating ‘heroism of security men in combating drugs’

The acclaimed Australian film-maker Phillip Noyce is being paid by the Saudi regime to make a feature film portraying the repressive state’s narcotics officers as heroes. The Watchful Eyes, based on a real Saudi ministry of interior narcotics case, is billed as a dramatic depiction of the “heroism of security men in combating drugs”. Saudi authorities executed 356 people last year, including 243 for drug-related cases, and analysts say an increase in the kingdom’s execution rate is largely due to its “war on drugs”. Noyce has enjoyed a decades-long career with directing credits including the 1970s classic Newsfront, Dead Calm, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Bone Collector. Filming for The Watchful Eyes began in Saudi Arabia in December and it will be released this year. The Saudi Gazette news site reported : “The film will be shot entirely in the Kingdom and is expected to deliver a compelling artistic experience that highlights the heroism of Saudi security forces and introduces their efforts in combating crime to audiences around the world.” A screenshot from the X account of royal adviser Turki al-Sheikh showing Noyce visiting locations in the kingdom Noyce, 76, has been escorted around filming locations and prisons by Turki al-Sheikh, a royal adviser dogged by allegations of human rights violations, including the detention of people who criticise him on social media. …