Three years after the first movie theater reopened in Saudi Arabia – following removal of a religion-related ban – the kingdom has become the top theatrical market in the Middle East and is turning into a major driver for Arabic film production.
“At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of the world,” says David Hancock, an analyst at London-based Omdia, which sees this new market as having the potential to be ranked among the top 10-15 territories for box office worldwide by 2024.
By 2024 Omdia estimates there will be 1,400 screens in Saudi Arabia, up from a current count of less than 300 screens in 2020 with more than 600 screens expected in 2021. In 2020 Saudi box office was up 3% to $115 million, bucking the downward trend in the rest of the world.
But besides growing box office and screen count, just like in other parts of the world such as China where there is moviegoing growth,...
“At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of the world,” says David Hancock, an analyst at London-based Omdia, which sees this new market as having the potential to be ranked among the top 10-15 territories for box office worldwide by 2024.
By 2024 Omdia estimates there will be 1,400 screens in Saudi Arabia, up from a current count of less than 300 screens in 2020 with more than 600 screens expected in 2021. In 2020 Saudi box office was up 3% to $115 million, bucking the downward trend in the rest of the world.
But besides growing box office and screen count, just like in other parts of the world such as China where there is moviegoing growth,...
- 3/4/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Cameras are set to roll in February on the long delayed Arabic adaptation of hit Italian concept movie “Perfect Strangers” with a high-caliber ensemble cast now in place comprising star Lebanese director/actor Nadine Labaki (“Capernaum”).
After being postponed due to both Covid-19 and political turmoil in Lebanon, the latest in a slew of remakes of the dramedy involving cellphones and personal secrets, is now on track for principal photography to start February 2. It will be directed by Lebanese first-timer Wissam Smayra who has co-written the Arabic “Perfect Strangers” screenplay with Gabriel Yammine.
Along with Labaki, the pan-Arabic “Perfect Strangers” cast also features Egypt’s Mona Zaki; Egypt-based Jordanian actor/director Eyad Nassar (“The Blue Elephant 2”); Lebanon’s Diamand Bou Abboud (“The Fixer”), Adel Karam (“The Insult”), and fellow Lebanese actor/director/playwright/composer Georges Khabbaz, who co-wrote “Capernaum.”
The original “Perfect Strangers” was directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese...
After being postponed due to both Covid-19 and political turmoil in Lebanon, the latest in a slew of remakes of the dramedy involving cellphones and personal secrets, is now on track for principal photography to start February 2. It will be directed by Lebanese first-timer Wissam Smayra who has co-written the Arabic “Perfect Strangers” screenplay with Gabriel Yammine.
Along with Labaki, the pan-Arabic “Perfect Strangers” cast also features Egypt’s Mona Zaki; Egypt-based Jordanian actor/director Eyad Nassar (“The Blue Elephant 2”); Lebanon’s Diamand Bou Abboud (“The Fixer”), Adel Karam (“The Insult”), and fellow Lebanese actor/director/playwright/composer Georges Khabbaz, who co-wrote “Capernaum.”
The original “Perfect Strangers” was directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese...
- 12/29/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Cast has been set and shoot scheduled for the Arabic-language remake of Italian box office smash hit Perfect Strangers.
Lebanese actress and filmmaker Nadine Labaki (Capernaum) has been cast alongside Egyptian star Mona Zaki (30 Years Ago), Adel Karam (The Insult), Eyad Nassar (The Looming Tower), Diamand Bou Abboud (The Insult) and George Khabbaz (Under the Bombs).
Wissam Smayra is directing and co-wrote the screenplay with Gabriel Yammine. Producers are Gianluca Chakra, Mohamed Hefzy and Mario Haddad. Production companies are Front Row Filmed Entertainment, Empire Entertainment and Film-Clinic. Filming on the delayed pic, which has been postponed by Covid-19 and also political turmoil in Lebanon, has now been scheduled for February 2. Mayada Hiraki is executive producing.
Italian comedy-drama Perfect Strangers, released in 2016, was a box office hit, grossing north of $30M. The film has since achieved a Guinness World Record by becoming the most remade movie in history with 18 versions and...
Lebanese actress and filmmaker Nadine Labaki (Capernaum) has been cast alongside Egyptian star Mona Zaki (30 Years Ago), Adel Karam (The Insult), Eyad Nassar (The Looming Tower), Diamand Bou Abboud (The Insult) and George Khabbaz (Under the Bombs).
Wissam Smayra is directing and co-wrote the screenplay with Gabriel Yammine. Producers are Gianluca Chakra, Mohamed Hefzy and Mario Haddad. Production companies are Front Row Filmed Entertainment, Empire Entertainment and Film-Clinic. Filming on the delayed pic, which has been postponed by Covid-19 and also political turmoil in Lebanon, has now been scheduled for February 2. Mayada Hiraki is executive producing.
Italian comedy-drama Perfect Strangers, released in 2016, was a box office hit, grossing north of $30M. The film has since achieved a Guinness World Record by becoming the most remade movie in history with 18 versions and...
- 12/29/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Production, which was postponed twice in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic, to shoot in early 2021.
Dubai-based Front Row Entertainment, Beirut-based Empire International and Cairo-based Film Clinic have unveiled a high-profile cast for their upcoming Arabic-language remake of Italian comedy Perfect Strangers and announced early 2021 shooting dates.
The all-star cast will combine Lebanese talents Nadine Labaki, George Khabbaz, Adel Karam and Diamand Bou Abboud with Egyptian star Mona Zaki and Jordan’s Eyad Nassar, who is also a star of mainstream Egyptian cinema.
Produced by Medusa Film, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions, Paolo Genovese’s comedy-drama Perfect Strangers grossed more than...
Dubai-based Front Row Entertainment, Beirut-based Empire International and Cairo-based Film Clinic have unveiled a high-profile cast for their upcoming Arabic-language remake of Italian comedy Perfect Strangers and announced early 2021 shooting dates.
The all-star cast will combine Lebanese talents Nadine Labaki, George Khabbaz, Adel Karam and Diamand Bou Abboud with Egyptian star Mona Zaki and Jordan’s Eyad Nassar, who is also a star of mainstream Egyptian cinema.
Produced by Medusa Film, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions, Paolo Genovese’s comedy-drama Perfect Strangers grossed more than...
- 12/29/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Production, which was postponed twice in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic, to shoot in early 2021.
Dubai-based Front Row Entertainment, Beirut-based Empire International and Cairo-based Film Clinic have unveiled a high-profile cast for their upcoming Arabic-language remake of Italian comedy Perfect Strangers and announced early 2021 shooting dates.
The all-star cast will combine Lebanese talents Nadine Labaki, George Khabbaz, Adel Karam and Diamand Bou Abboud with Egyptian star Mona Zaki and Jordan’s Eyad Nassar, who is also a star of mainstream Egyptian cinema.
Produced by Medusa Film, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions, Paolo Genovese’s comedy-drama Perfect Strangers grossed more than...
Dubai-based Front Row Entertainment, Beirut-based Empire International and Cairo-based Film Clinic have unveiled a high-profile cast for their upcoming Arabic-language remake of Italian comedy Perfect Strangers and announced early 2021 shooting dates.
The all-star cast will combine Lebanese talents Nadine Labaki, George Khabbaz, Adel Karam and Diamand Bou Abboud with Egyptian star Mona Zaki and Jordan’s Eyad Nassar, who is also a star of mainstream Egyptian cinema.
Produced by Medusa Film, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions, Paolo Genovese’s comedy-drama Perfect Strangers grossed more than...
- 12/29/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Nadine Labaki, the Lebanese actress and filmmaker who landed an Oscar nomination as director of 2018’s record-smashing feature Capernaum, has been cast in the upcoming Arabic language remake of hit Italian drama Perfect Strangers.
Labaki joins an impressive lineup of Arabic stars, including Mona Zaki (30 Years Ago, Scheherazade: Tell Me A Story, Escaping Tel Aviv), Adel Karam (The Insult, Caramel, Netflix’s Live From Beirut), Eyad Nassar (The Looming Tower, Sons of Rizk 2, The Blue Elephant 2), Diamand Bou Abboud (The Insult, The Sculptor, The Fixer) and Lebanese legend, actor screen and playwright George Khabbaz (Under the Bombs, Ghadi, and co-writer of Capernaum).
First announced in late 2018, the Perfect ...
Labaki joins an impressive lineup of Arabic stars, including Mona Zaki (30 Years Ago, Scheherazade: Tell Me A Story, Escaping Tel Aviv), Adel Karam (The Insult, Caramel, Netflix’s Live From Beirut), Eyad Nassar (The Looming Tower, Sons of Rizk 2, The Blue Elephant 2), Diamand Bou Abboud (The Insult, The Sculptor, The Fixer) and Lebanese legend, actor screen and playwright George Khabbaz (Under the Bombs, Ghadi, and co-writer of Capernaum).
First announced in late 2018, the Perfect ...
- 12/29/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Nadine Labaki, the Lebanese actress and filmmaker who landed an Oscar nomination as director of 2018’s record-smashing feature Capernaum, has been cast in the upcoming Arabic language remake of hit Italian drama Perfect Strangers.
Labaki joins an impressive lineup of Arabic stars, including Mona Zaki (30 Years Ago, Scheherazade: Tell Me A Story, Escaping Tel Aviv), Adel Karam (The Insult, Caramel, Netflix’s Live From Beirut), Eyad Nassar (The Looming Tower, Sons of Rizk 2, The Blue Elephant 2), Diamand Bou Abboud (The Insult, The Sculptor, The Fixer) and Lebanese legend, actor screen and playwright George Khabbaz (Under the Bombs, Ghadi, and co-writer of Capernaum).
First announced in late 2018, the Perfect Strangers...
Labaki joins an impressive lineup of Arabic stars, including Mona Zaki (30 Years Ago, Scheherazade: Tell Me A Story, Escaping Tel Aviv), Adel Karam (The Insult, Caramel, Netflix’s Live From Beirut), Eyad Nassar (The Looming Tower, Sons of Rizk 2, The Blue Elephant 2), Diamand Bou Abboud (The Insult, The Sculptor, The Fixer) and Lebanese legend, actor screen and playwright George Khabbaz (Under the Bombs, Ghadi, and co-writer of Capernaum).
First announced in late 2018, the Perfect Strangers...
- 12/29/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chicago – The clash of ideologies or religion that result in war is one of the most emotional of reasons to fight (and convenient for those who manipulate such emotions). “The Insult,” a contender for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, shows how feelings can escalate to bitter conflict.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The film is set in Beirut, Lebanon, that is building towards a safe harbor for their citizens in a post-war era… especially the Palestinian refugees. But this is not without consequence, and it’s illustrated through a confrontation between a Christian Party mechanic and a Palestinian construction worker. What starts as an exchange of misunderstood insults, becomes a trial of the century, and a powder keg with a burning fuse for the broader opposing factions in Lebanon. Exquisitely acted and highly moral, the film creates human representatives for long-simmering resentments, and holds up that humanity to the light.
Tony Hanna...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The film is set in Beirut, Lebanon, that is building towards a safe harbor for their citizens in a post-war era… especially the Palestinian refugees. But this is not without consequence, and it’s illustrated through a confrontation between a Christian Party mechanic and a Palestinian construction worker. What starts as an exchange of misunderstood insults, becomes a trial of the century, and a powder keg with a burning fuse for the broader opposing factions in Lebanon. Exquisitely acted and highly moral, the film creates human representatives for long-simmering resentments, and holds up that humanity to the light.
Tony Hanna...
- 2/2/2018
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Its Oscar nomination this week as Best Foreign-Language Film isn't the only thing that makes The Insult a must-see – Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiri's legal thriller fairly crackles with timely provocations. And don't be put off if the film's structure initially seems schematic to a fault. This is a director who's more than adept at filling in the spaces between feuding characters with insinuating nuance.
The conflict starts when Tony Hanna (Adel Karam), a Christian garage owner with a pregnant wife, Shirine (Rita Hayek), gets all up in the face...
The conflict starts when Tony Hanna (Adel Karam), a Christian garage owner with a pregnant wife, Shirine (Rita Hayek), gets all up in the face...
- 1/25/2018
- Rollingstone.com
The Insult (L’insulte) Cohen Media Group Director: Ziad Doueiri Written by: Ziad Doueiri, Joëlle Touma Cast: Adel Karam, Rita Hayek, Kamel El Basha, Christine Choueiri, Camille Salamé, Diamand Bou Abboud, Georges Daou Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 1/7/18 Opens: January 26, 2018 Sometimes a judicial case causes repercussions well beyond the courtroom. Consider how the […]
The post The Insult Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Insult Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 1/21/2018
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
"It's about the truth." "Which truth?" Cohen Media Group has released the official Us trailer for a Lebanese film titled The Insult, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this fall. This film is a radical, dramatic profile of the division and tensions in Lebanon, specifically between the two prominent religious groups - Christians and Muslims. Set in Beirut, the story begins when a local man insults a construction worker, and then their tiny verbal spat blows completely out of proportion, almost causing a war in the entire country. From the director of The Attack, The Insult stars Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Rita Hayek, Christine Choueiri, Diamand Bou Abboud, and Georges Daou. I caught this in Venice and it's a thrilling, intense film, but also very loud and flashy at times, with some weird twists in the second half (it turns into a court room legal battle...
- 12/4/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Despite the fact that Ziad Doueiri’s (a crew member on some of Quentin Tarantino’s early works) latest film The Insult is set in Lebanon, the ensuing drama can’t help but feel familiar to what’s currently happening in America. As our president says bad things are happening on “both sides” and that there are “good people” being “wrongly maligned,” we know the truth. Or at least we should. Whether or not his words are objectively correct, they fail to acknowledge that those “good people” are aligning themselves with hateful, racist notions while hiding behind politics or religion as though either is a valid excuse for a lack of simple humanity. We’ve found ourselves defaulting towards sanctimony, declaring our beliefs righteous without a care for truth or context. And nothing can ever be solved if we remain too prideful to admit we are wrong.
The big difference...
The big difference...
- 9/8/2017
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
This brutally tough but absorbing film is set in a Damascus apartment in which a family with a tragic secret have barricaded themselves
There is something almost unbearable in this film’s tension and claustrophobia, a brutally tough drama from writer-director Philippe Van Leeuw. The scene is a crowded apartment in the Syrian capital Damascus, in which a family is barricaded, effectively imprisoned by the civil war outside. Food and water are running out in this small space. Hiam Abbass plays Yazan, the stern matriarch who through sheer force of will is keeping things together. Her husband has gone for help; she must keep in line her two daughters and son, her elderly father-in-law and also a couple staying with them, who are planning an escape. Then something tragic happens that has to be kept secret from the rest of the family, known only to Yazan and her maidservant Delhani...
There is something almost unbearable in this film’s tension and claustrophobia, a brutally tough drama from writer-director Philippe Van Leeuw. The scene is a crowded apartment in the Syrian capital Damascus, in which a family is barricaded, effectively imprisoned by the civil war outside. Food and water are running out in this small space. Hiam Abbass plays Yazan, the stern matriarch who through sheer force of will is keeping things together. Her husband has gone for help; she must keep in line her two daughters and son, her elderly father-in-law and also a couple staying with them, who are planning an escape. Then something tragic happens that has to be kept secret from the rest of the family, known only to Yazan and her maidservant Delhani...
- 9/7/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Title: The Insult Director: Ziad Doueri Cast: Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Diamand Bou Abboud, Rita Hayek, Talal Jurdi, Christine Choueiri, Julia Kassar, Rifaat Torbey and Carlos Chahine. How easy it is to portray political conflicts in a conciliatory way falling into the pit of excessively moral and benevolent behaviour. This is not […]
The post The Insult Movie Review (Venice Film Festival 2017) appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Insult Movie Review (Venice Film Festival 2017) appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 8/31/2017
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
Exclusive: Hiam Abbass leads Berlin Panorama winner.
New York distributor Film Movement has acquired Us rights to Belgian director Philippe Van Leeuw’s Berlin Panorama Audience Award-winner In Syria.
Films Boutique represents international rights to the film formerly known as Insyriated and screens it in Cannes tomorrow (May 18) and on Monday (May 22).
Israeli-Palestinian actor Hiam Abbass plays a mother of three who turns her home into a safe house for family and neighbours as Syria’s civil war rages outside.
As bombs fall in the street, snipers turn nearby courtyards into death traps and burglars loot hard-won belongings, maintaining a routine indoors becomes a matter of life and death over the course of one day.
The cast includes Diamand Bou Abboud and Juliette Navis.
Film Movement celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and president Michael E. Rosenberg is in Cannes to scout for acquisitions. The company plans a theatrical release this winter.
“In Syria is a powerful...
New York distributor Film Movement has acquired Us rights to Belgian director Philippe Van Leeuw’s Berlin Panorama Audience Award-winner In Syria.
Films Boutique represents international rights to the film formerly known as Insyriated and screens it in Cannes tomorrow (May 18) and on Monday (May 22).
Israeli-Palestinian actor Hiam Abbass plays a mother of three who turns her home into a safe house for family and neighbours as Syria’s civil war rages outside.
As bombs fall in the street, snipers turn nearby courtyards into death traps and burglars loot hard-won belongings, maintaining a routine indoors becomes a matter of life and death over the course of one day.
The cast includes Diamand Bou Abboud and Juliette Navis.
Film Movement celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and president Michael E. Rosenberg is in Cannes to scout for acquisitions. The company plans a theatrical release this winter.
“In Syria is a powerful...
- 5/17/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Film premieres in Berlin’s Panorama strand on Sunday (Feb 11).
Screen can reveal the first trailer for Insyriated, a tense drama set during the Syrian civil war.
Watch the trailer below or on mobile click Here.
The film is premiering in the Panorama strand at the 2017 Berlin film festival on Sunday (Feb 11)
It was directed by Philippe Van Leeuw. Films Boutique are handling international sales.
The story revolves around a mother of three (Hiam Abbass) who is trapped inside her flat in war-torn Aleppo. She tries to keep her family and friends safe as her home is threatened by bombs, snipers and burglars.
The cast also includes Diamand Abou Abboud, Juliette Navis, Mohsen Abbas and Moustapha Al Kar.
Kmbo are distributing in france, with O’Brother Distribution handling Belgium.
Guillaume Malandrin and Serge Zeitoun produced for Altitude100 Production & Liaison Cinématographique, in coproduction with Minds Meet, Versus Production, Voo et Be tv and Né à Beyrouth Films.
Screen can reveal the first trailer for Insyriated, a tense drama set during the Syrian civil war.
Watch the trailer below or on mobile click Here.
The film is premiering in the Panorama strand at the 2017 Berlin film festival on Sunday (Feb 11)
It was directed by Philippe Van Leeuw. Films Boutique are handling international sales.
The story revolves around a mother of three (Hiam Abbass) who is trapped inside her flat in war-torn Aleppo. She tries to keep her family and friends safe as her home is threatened by bombs, snipers and burglars.
The cast also includes Diamand Abou Abboud, Juliette Navis, Mohsen Abbas and Moustapha Al Kar.
Kmbo are distributing in france, with O’Brother Distribution handling Belgium.
Guillaume Malandrin and Serge Zeitoun produced for Altitude100 Production & Liaison Cinématographique, in coproduction with Minds Meet, Versus Production, Voo et Be tv and Né à Beyrouth Films.
- 2/10/2017
- ScreenDaily
Berlin’s Panorama lineup also includes new films from Us, China and Brazil.
Berlin’s Panorama strand is now complete following the addition of 24 additional titles.
A total of 51 works from 43 countries have been chosen for screening in the section, including 21 in Panorama Dokumente and 29 feature films in the main programme and Panorama Special. 36 of these films will be getting their world premieres at the Berlinale.
The German production Tiger Girl by Jakob Lass will open this year’s edition of Panorama Special at Berlin’s Zoo Palast cinema, along with the previously announced Brazilian production Vazante.
Among newly confirmed films are UK Sundance title God’s Own Country, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, Cate Shortland’s Berlin Syndrome, feminist fairy tale The Misandrists by Berlinale regular Bruce Labruce, Erik Poppe’s The King’s Choice and Belgian-French-Lebanese co-production Insyriated which stars Hiam Abbass as a woman trapped in an apartment during war.[p...
Berlin’s Panorama strand is now complete following the addition of 24 additional titles.
A total of 51 works from 43 countries have been chosen for screening in the section, including 21 in Panorama Dokumente and 29 feature films in the main programme and Panorama Special. 36 of these films will be getting their world premieres at the Berlinale.
The German production Tiger Girl by Jakob Lass will open this year’s edition of Panorama Special at Berlin’s Zoo Palast cinema, along with the previously announced Brazilian production Vazante.
Among newly confirmed films are UK Sundance title God’s Own Country, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, Cate Shortland’s Berlin Syndrome, feminist fairy tale The Misandrists by Berlinale regular Bruce Labruce, Erik Poppe’s The King’s Choice and Belgian-French-Lebanese co-production Insyriated which stars Hiam Abbass as a woman trapped in an apartment during war.[p...
- 1/25/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
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