Here is an unprecedented event on television – a view of modern Saudi Arabia from the perspective of Prince Saud bin Abdul Mohsen bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, governor of the province of Hail and nephew of the King. Lionel Mill’s documentary was eight years in the making, and everywhere the camera crew was accompanied by an official from the Ministry of Information and a police escort.
Yet the Prince is astonishingly open – discussing religion, democracy and the role of women as he goes about his princely business. “We don’t want to be westernised,” he says, “but we want to catch up on the scientific front. We want to be a partner in this world that is moving at the speed of light.” It is a film based on trust rather than confrontation – and is much the richer for it.