Acclaimed Saudi director Abdulaziz al-Shlahei to shoot feature film in NEOM

The highly acclaimed Saudi director Abdulaziz al-Shlahei is to head to Saudi Arabia’s NEOM to shoot his upcoming feature film ‘Hobal’.

‘Hobal’ – which will begin filming in September – follows the story of a Saudi family living in isolation in the desert in the early 1990s. The family has been prohibited from leaving the desert by their strict grandfather. However, a series of events shakes the family’s foundation and pits them against a struggle between life and death.

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The all-Saudi cast includes film stars Mohammed al-Toyan and Mishal al-Mutairi.

‘Hobal’ is al-Shlahei’s third feature film, following his Saudi period drama ‘The Tambour of Retribution’, which secured two awards at the Cairo Film Festival and was selected as the Saudi Arabia’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022.

The film’s scriptwriter, Mufarrej Al-Majfel, was one of the winners of a fund award at the Saudi Film Commission’s Daw Film Competition.

The initiative was launched by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture in 2019 to support Saudi film production and champion the next generation of filmmakers by establishing a sustainable funding program to bring Saudi content to the movie screens and to wider audiences.

“Since 2018, we have been thinking about unique locations to shoot our film. We decided on NEOM, and specifically Bajdah, where the captivating landscapes will be an influential and integral part of the narrative,” the director said in a statement.

A backdrop for film locations

NEOM will provide production assistance including crew, location scouting, logistics, and on-the-ground production expertise.

The Bajdah Studios offers producers the opportunity to shoot on location in the stunning landscapes of NEOM while being in close proximity to the state-of-the-art sound stages complete with back-of-house facilities comprising of make-up rooms, green rooms, and production offices.

Wayne Borg, Managing Director of Media Industries, Entertainment, and Culture at NEOM, said, “We are thrilled to be the location of choice for Abdulaziz Alshlahei’s latest homegrown feature ‘Hobal’. We are looking forward to supporting him in every step of the way to bring his vision to the screen, in what is a very exciting time for the local industry.”

“There is a huge appetite for compelling authentic stories from the region across a range of genres that are now transcending borders which we are proud to be a part of.”

NEOM has supported and provided the backdrop for over 30 local projects that span film and television.

They include documentaries and works of fiction, such as Rupert Wyatt’s ‘Desert Warrior’ – starring Anthony Mackie and Sir Ben Kingsley – as well as ‘Dunki’ directed by Rajkumar Hirani and starring Shahrukh Khan.

The first regional reality TV show ‘Million Dollar Island’ and the region’s biggest-ever budget TV show ‘Rise of The Witches’ were also filmed in NEOM.

In addition, MBC’s ‘Exceptional’ – a 200-episode-a-year TV drama series – is set to begin shooting in July.

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