DUBAI: Saudi feature film “Hobal,” featuring actress Mila Al-Zahrani, is set to screen at international theaters.
“After the success of the movie ‘Hobal’ at the box office in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, we embark on a new journey around the world with you. In the first phase, ‘Hobal’ will be shown in cinemas in America, Britain, Canada, Ireland and Germany. In the second stage, it will be presented in other countries,” the filmmakers announced on social media Monday.
Shot in NEOM in Saudi Arabia, the film was directed by Abdulaziz Al-Shlahei and features an all-Saudi cast, including Mohammed Al-Toyan and Mishal Al-Mutairi.
The motion picture marked Al-Shlahei’s third feature film, following the success of Saudi period drama “The Tambour of Retribution,” which received two awards at the Cairo Film Festival and was chosen as the Saudi entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022.
“Hobal” tells the story of a Bedouin family, set in the early 1990s, living in extreme isolation, led by a paranoid patriarch (Ibrahim Al-Hasawi) who believes the end of times is near and strongly forbids anyone from his family to venture into town.
