’We strive to make each film distinct from one another,’ says co-founder Ali Fadan
Over the past twelve months, Telfaz11 has established itself at the forefront of the Saudi production industry.
Its comedy Sattar became the number one Saudi film ever, and the fourth biggest release of all time at the Saudi box office, with over 918,000 admissions.
Two Telfaz11 films – Ali Kalthami’s drama Mandoob and Meshal Aljaser’s suspense thriller Naga – world premiered at Toronto.
Both are playing at Red Sea before being released later this month: Naga on Netflix on December 7 and Mandoob in theatres on December 14. Abdullah...
Over the past twelve months, Telfaz11 has established itself at the forefront of the Saudi production industry.
Its comedy Sattar became the number one Saudi film ever, and the fourth biggest release of all time at the Saudi box office, with over 918,000 admissions.
Two Telfaz11 films – Ali Kalthami’s drama Mandoob and Meshal Aljaser’s suspense thriller Naga – world premiered at Toronto.
Both are playing at Red Sea before being released later this month: Naga on Netflix on December 7 and Mandoob in theatres on December 14. Abdullah...
- 12/4/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
In a surprising turn of events for Hollywood, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has now begun snubbing the industry as local language movies begin to dominate the market in Riyadh. ‘Avatar 2: The Way of Water’ which is one of the biggest films ever made, earning over $2.4 billion at the global box office, and did quite well in Ksa was knocked off quite unexpectedly by a local Saudi Arabian film called ‘Sattar’.
The movie is a family comedy drama movie which follows the life of a depressed man who follows his dreams of becoming a freestyle wrestling champion.
According to ‘The Hollywood Reporter’, The film — which had bowed at the Red Sea Film Festival just a month earlier — smashed box office records, earning $2.2 million over its first 12 days, instantly making it the highest-grossing Saudi movie of all time. Granted, the local film industry literally didn’t exist just a few...
The movie is a family comedy drama movie which follows the life of a depressed man who follows his dreams of becoming a freestyle wrestling champion.
According to ‘The Hollywood Reporter’, The film — which had bowed at the Red Sea Film Festival just a month earlier — smashed box office records, earning $2.2 million over its first 12 days, instantly making it the highest-grossing Saudi movie of all time. Granted, the local film industry literally didn’t exist just a few...
- 8/2/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
There was a shock at the top of the Saudi Arabian box office the first weekend of 2023.
Avatar: The Way of Water, in its third week of release and still a dominant force across the planet on its way to an overall haul in excess of $2.3 billion, was knocked off its perch by an unexpected assailant (and one wearing a multicolored luchador mask).
The new titleholder: Sattar, a Saudi Arabian family comedy about a depressed man who follows his dreams of becoming a freestyle wrestling champion. The film — which had bowed at the Red Sea Film Festival just a month earlier (and where, ironically, the subject of Saudi films not performing had been a talking point) — smashed box office records, earning $2.2 million over its first 12 days, instantly making it the highest-grossing Saudi movie of all time. Granted, the local film industry literally didn’t exist just a few years ago...
Avatar: The Way of Water, in its third week of release and still a dominant force across the planet on its way to an overall haul in excess of $2.3 billion, was knocked off its perch by an unexpected assailant (and one wearing a multicolored luchador mask).
The new titleholder: Sattar, a Saudi Arabian family comedy about a depressed man who follows his dreams of becoming a freestyle wrestling champion. The film — which had bowed at the Red Sea Film Festival just a month earlier (and where, ironically, the subject of Saudi films not performing had been a talking point) — smashed box office records, earning $2.2 million over its first 12 days, instantly making it the highest-grossing Saudi movie of all time. Granted, the local film industry literally didn’t exist just a few years ago...
- 8/1/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Saudi Arabian family comedy Sattar, set against the world of freestyle wrestling, has continued its record-breaking run at home to become one of the top five highest-grossing movies in the territory ever.
Since its release on December 29, the film has sold 723,000 tickets for a box office gross of $9.2M to date.
Distributor Front Row Arabia said that the film now sits in the fifth slot in Saudi Arabia’s historic box office charts after Top Gun: Maverick ($22.6M), Spider-Man: No Way Home ($17.4M) and two Egyptian films, Bahebek ($15.7M) and Waafet Regala ($15.6M).
The success comes just five years after the lifting of Saudi Arabia’s 35-year cinema ban at the end of 2017, and bodes well for the country’s burgeoning local filmmaking scene.
Kuwaiti filmmaker Abdullah Al Arak directs a cast led by stars popular Saudi actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajjaj, best known for the hit action...
Since its release on December 29, the film has sold 723,000 tickets for a box office gross of $9.2M to date.
Distributor Front Row Arabia said that the film now sits in the fifth slot in Saudi Arabia’s historic box office charts after Top Gun: Maverick ($22.6M), Spider-Man: No Way Home ($17.4M) and two Egyptian films, Bahebek ($15.7M) and Waafet Regala ($15.6M).
The success comes just five years after the lifting of Saudi Arabia’s 35-year cinema ban at the end of 2017, and bodes well for the country’s burgeoning local filmmaking scene.
Kuwaiti filmmaker Abdullah Al Arak directs a cast led by stars popular Saudi actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajjaj, best known for the hit action...
- 3/2/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Saudi feelgood comedy-drama Sattar, which has enjoyed a record-breaking theatrical run at home, will hit U.K. cinemas next month in a release spearheaded by Mena region distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment.
Sattar, which is set in the world of freestyle wrestling, will be only the second Saudi Arabian film to be released theatrically in the U.K. after Haifa al-Mansour’s ground-breaking 2012 international breakout Wadjda.
The film will launch on around 10 U.K. screens in London and other major U.K. cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Leeds, on February 10.
Front Row, which has struck a direct distribution, revenue-sharing deal with Odeon Cinemas, is aiming to catch the wave of the film’s success in Saudi Arabia.
The target audience is Saudi Arabian and Gulf citizens living in the U.K. but Front Row expects it to appeal to a wider Arabic-speaking audience as well as local spectators without Mena ties.
Sattar, which is set in the world of freestyle wrestling, will be only the second Saudi Arabian film to be released theatrically in the U.K. after Haifa al-Mansour’s ground-breaking 2012 international breakout Wadjda.
The film will launch on around 10 U.K. screens in London and other major U.K. cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Leeds, on February 10.
Front Row, which has struck a direct distribution, revenue-sharing deal with Odeon Cinemas, is aiming to catch the wave of the film’s success in Saudi Arabia.
The target audience is Saudi Arabian and Gulf citizens living in the U.K. but Front Row expects it to appeal to a wider Arabic-speaking audience as well as local spectators without Mena ties.
- 1/25/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Saudi wrestling comedy “Sattar” is scoring record-breaking results at the home box office where the satiric actioner has obtained over 159,000 admissions and grossed 2.2 million since its Dec. 29 release.
The film has become the highest grossing local title since Saudi Arabia revoked a 35-year ban on the operation of commercial movie theaters in Dec. 2017.
Directed by Kuwaiti’s Abdullah Al Arak, “Sattar,” which launched positively in early December from the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, has now rapidly bested the the 151,000 admissions pulled by Saudi Arabia’s previous record holder for a local title, “Born a King,” through its entire run. Released in 2020, “Born a King” is an inspirational biopic of Saudi King Faisal, set against the backdrop of his diplomatic mission as a young prince in London in 1919 at the tender age of 13 to plead for non-intervention in Arabia.
By contrast, “Sattar” stars Saudi actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajjaj...
The film has become the highest grossing local title since Saudi Arabia revoked a 35-year ban on the operation of commercial movie theaters in Dec. 2017.
Directed by Kuwaiti’s Abdullah Al Arak, “Sattar,” which launched positively in early December from the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, has now rapidly bested the the 151,000 admissions pulled by Saudi Arabia’s previous record holder for a local title, “Born a King,” through its entire run. Released in 2020, “Born a King” is an inspirational biopic of Saudi King Faisal, set against the backdrop of his diplomatic mission as a young prince in London in 1919 at the tender age of 13 to plead for non-intervention in Arabia.
By contrast, “Sattar” stars Saudi actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajjaj...
- 1/9/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Saudi Arabian family comedy Sattar, about a depressed man who decides to pursue his dreams of becoming a freestyle wrestling champion, has set a new box office record for a local film at home.
The film has drawn 159,000 spectators for a gross of 2.2m over the course of its first 12 days on release to become the highest-grossing local film of all time in the territory, according to distributor Front Row Arabia, the joint distribution label between pan-Arab distributor Front Row Filmed and local exhibitor Muvi Cinema.
The distributor said that in its opening weekend, Sattar took the top slot from James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, then on its third week of release, outpacing the blockbuster by more than 40 in terms of admissions and 32 in gross.
Front Row Arabia said that strong word of mouth meant the film title dropped just 11 on the second weekend, in spite of widespread thunderstorms across the country,...
The film has drawn 159,000 spectators for a gross of 2.2m over the course of its first 12 days on release to become the highest-grossing local film of all time in the territory, according to distributor Front Row Arabia, the joint distribution label between pan-Arab distributor Front Row Filmed and local exhibitor Muvi Cinema.
The distributor said that in its opening weekend, Sattar took the top slot from James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, then on its third week of release, outpacing the blockbuster by more than 40 in terms of admissions and 32 in gross.
Front Row Arabia said that strong word of mouth meant the film title dropped just 11 on the second weekend, in spite of widespread thunderstorms across the country,...
- 1/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Paramount+ Greenlights ‘The Killing Kind’ Adaptation
Paramount+ has set its latest UK original drama, an adaptation of Jane Casey’s bestseller The Killing Kind. Magpie Murders indie Eleventh Hour Film will produce the six-part adaptation from writer-director Zara Hayes (Showtrial), Jonathan Ah Stewart and Casey. The book follows Ingrid, a successful barrister who defends a man accused of coercive control and sees he world implode before the man returns to claim that someone is trying to kill her and only he can protect her. Sony Pictures Television is distributing internationally for the latest big-budget Paramount+ international bet. Paramount UK Deputy Chief Content Officer Sebastian Cardwell called the show “another great example of the high-quality local content we have on Paramount+.”
Viaplay Launches On Roku Channel In U.S.
Scandi streamer Viaplay has taken its next step towards major U.S. distribution by striking a deal to feature on the Roku platform.
Paramount+ has set its latest UK original drama, an adaptation of Jane Casey’s bestseller The Killing Kind. Magpie Murders indie Eleventh Hour Film will produce the six-part adaptation from writer-director Zara Hayes (Showtrial), Jonathan Ah Stewart and Casey. The book follows Ingrid, a successful barrister who defends a man accused of coercive control and sees he world implode before the man returns to claim that someone is trying to kill her and only he can protect her. Sony Pictures Television is distributing internationally for the latest big-budget Paramount+ international bet. Paramount UK Deputy Chief Content Officer Sebastian Cardwell called the show “another great example of the high-quality local content we have on Paramount+.”
Viaplay Launches On Roku Channel In U.S.
Scandi streamer Viaplay has taken its next step towards major U.S. distribution by striking a deal to feature on the Roku platform.
- 12/19/2022
- by Max Goldbart and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Middle East distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has boarded Saudi wrestling comedy “Sattar.” The film is set for a wide release in Saudi on Dec. 29 via Front Row Arabia, its joint-venture with local exhibitor Muvi Cinemas.
Directed by Kuwaiti’s Abdullah Al Arak, the film, which launched positively from the recent Red Sea Film Festival, is produced by Saudi Arabia’s prolific production company Tefaz11 via its new production arm, AlShimaisi Films, in tandem with Muvi Studios. “Sattar” stars Saudi actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajjaj (“Rashash”), who plays Saad, a man whose floundering personal and professional life prompts him to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a freestyle wrestler.
The Saudi theatrical market has been booming in recent years. Following the Dec. 2017 removal of the kingdom’s 35-year-old religion-related ban on movie theaters, the kingdom is now the top theatrical market in the Middle East and was worth 238 million in 2021, as per Comscore.
Directed by Kuwaiti’s Abdullah Al Arak, the film, which launched positively from the recent Red Sea Film Festival, is produced by Saudi Arabia’s prolific production company Tefaz11 via its new production arm, AlShimaisi Films, in tandem with Muvi Studios. “Sattar” stars Saudi actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajjaj (“Rashash”), who plays Saad, a man whose floundering personal and professional life prompts him to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a freestyle wrestler.
The Saudi theatrical market has been booming in recent years. Following the Dec. 2017 removal of the kingdom’s 35-year-old religion-related ban on movie theaters, the kingdom is now the top theatrical market in the Middle East and was worth 238 million in 2021, as per Comscore.
- 12/19/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Ibrahim Alhajjaj is a rather popular Saudi Arabian actor, whose credits include for Rashash (2021), Six Windows in the Desert (2020) and No Escape (2019). His last work, “Sattar” finds him in a role of Saad, a man who is trying to become a professional wrestler, with the help of Ali Hogan, a rather unusual coach.
“Sattar” had its world premiere at Red Sea International Film Festival, and we talked with Alhajjaj about wrestling and his training for the movie, his cooperation with the director and co-protagonist, how the life for an actor in Saudi Arabia is and many other topics.
Sattar is screened at Red Sea International Film Festival
Is wrestling big in Saudi Arabia?
Actually, yes. There are a lot of wrestling fans in Saudi Arabia. It started back in the 80s, maybe late 70s, when the Saudi TV channel started airing WWE matches, so there is a big audience which...
“Sattar” had its world premiere at Red Sea International Film Festival, and we talked with Alhajjaj about wrestling and his training for the movie, his cooperation with the director and co-protagonist, how the life for an actor in Saudi Arabia is and many other topics.
Sattar is screened at Red Sea International Film Festival
Is wrestling big in Saudi Arabia?
Actually, yes. There are a lot of wrestling fans in Saudi Arabia. It started back in the 80s, maybe late 70s, when the Saudi TV channel started airing WWE matches, so there is a big audience which...
- 12/8/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
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