Regional exhibitor and distributor VOX Cinemas has acquired Arabic-language rights to Emirati film-maker Majid Al Ansari’s Rattle The Cage (Zinzana) ahead of its gala screening at DIFF today.

The UAE-based company is set to release the thriller on 50 screens across the region, kicking off with the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait on December 10, followed by Egypt, Iraq and Jordan on December 17 and Lebanon in early 2016.

“Zinzana has already played very well in a number of festivals outside the Arab world and received rave reviews from major film publications. We hope it will also find an audience across the Middle East. We’re targeting adult audiences across the cultural spectrum,” said VOX’s director of distribution and film content Toni El Massih.

VOX Cinemas, which is owned by UAE retail and leisure giant Majid Al Futtaim, is one of the fastest-growing exhibition chains in the region with 122 screens in the UAE and 154 across the region.

The company opened the region’s largest cinema complex, in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, in September. It also branched into acquisition and distribution last year to expand niche programming activities for its ever-burgeoning circuit.

“Being an Emirati-owned company, VOX Cinemas has always supported Arabic content. With Zinzana we had the opportunity not just to exhibit, but also distribute an Emirati film and start cooperating with Image Nation. Image Nation is dedicated to identifying and nurturing Emirati talent and joining forces with them on a young and talented Emirati film maker’s first feature film just seemed like a natural next step,” said El Massih.

Other Arabic-language DIFF titles on VOX Cinemas’ upcoming slate include Hany Abu-Assad’s The Idol, which it will release in the UAE on December 24.

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