Fledgling Saudi production company Alamiya Filmed Entertainment (AFE) has partnered with Dubai-based Front Row Productions to make female-led road trip comedy feature My Treat (Mahmool Makfool).
Directed by Egypt’s Karim Abu Zeid, filming is set to begin this September in Riyadh and Istanbul, and is billed as the first time a major Saudi feature has shot in Turkey. A theatrical release across the Middle East is being scheduled for 2025.
The story follows three superfans of Turkish soap operas who travel from Saudi to Istanbul in a bid to meet their favourite actor. But the trip takes an unexpected turn when they find themselves falsely accused of kidnapping the very star they idolise and become entangled in their very own soap opera drama.
The cast is led by Saudi actors Khairiyah Abu Laban (AlHamour H.A.) and Nermin Mohsen (The Blue Whale) alongside Egypt’s Engy Wegdan (H Dabor). Producers are in negotiations with a leading actor to play the Turkish star at the centre of the comedy.
Turkish content is extremely popular in the Arabic-speaking region due to shared history and cultural similarities. Turkey has also managed to build tourism around the industry, which is mainly targeted at a female-skewed GCC fanbase who travel on celebrity spotting and home tour trips.
The screenplay is from Saudi-Palestinian writer Noha Saadi from an original story by Wesam Kattan, the CEO of AFE who said the project has been “almost three years in the making”.
Co-produced by AFE and Front Row, the companies said the project marked the beginning of a new partnership between the two outfits.
AFE was established in May 2023 after leading Saudi live events and media company Alamiya acquired Lyra Pictures, co-founded by Kattan, who was part of the Viacom team that launched MTV Arabia.
Front Row Productions is the joint venture production arm of Front Row Filmed Entertainment in partnership with MENA Sony distributor Empire Entertainment.
In a joint statement, Front Row Productions CEO’s Gianluca Chakra and Mario Junior Haddad said: “The Saudi cinema industry has been experiencing significant growth, as evidenced by the successes of films like Sattar, Mandoob, Shabab El Bomb, and AlHamour H.A., which have frequently outperformed Western studio blockbusters.
“Alongside this trend, Turkish dramas have already garnered a strong following in the Arab world. A potential strategy for uniting Arab audiences and achieving even greater success could involve blending elements of Saudi and Arab cinema with the popular Turkish style, creating an intriguing formula that respects and incorporates the cultural nuances of all three regions.
“This approach has the potential to resonate with diverse audiences and bridge cultural gaps, offering a fresh and engaging viewing experience for viewers in the Middle East and beyond.”
Since launching in 2020, Front Row Productions has made features such as an Arabic adaptation of Italian hit Perfect Strangers, which performed strongly after its debut on Netflix in January 2022, and is in post-production on The Sand Castle, a mystery thriller directed by Matty Brown and starring Nadine Labaki. It has been shooting Jordanian crime thriller Boomah this summer, directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan and starring Rakeen Saad, and is planning a feature film and TV series based around Sally Hafez, a Lebanese woman who received international attention after storming a bank in 2022.
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