Author: DONNA ABU-NASR

DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia (AP) — It’s a far cry from the glamour of Cannes: No celebrities strutting their stuff; an all-male audience drinking coffee and juice rather than champagne; and if any female spectators showed up — well, no one knew. They came in through a back entrance into a separate hall, off-limits to the male organizers.Still, there was an undercurrent of excitement at the cultural club in this eastern Saudi city. The four-day film festival that kicked off Tuesday night was the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia — one that many hope will boost the kingdom’s fledgling…