Norah star Yaqoub Alfarhan and Adwa Bader are to lead the cast of historical drama Dancing On Fire, directed by Saudi filmmaker Hana Al-Omair.
Based on bestselling Saudi novel Divers Of The Desert by Amal Al-Faran, the screenplay is co-written by Al-Omair and Soha Samir. It is produced by Transit Films International, an Egyptian production company now based in Amsterdam, whose award-winning credits include Amjad Abu Alala’s You Will Die At Twenty and Hala Elkoussy’s Cactus Flower.
Samir is also producer of the project and is at the Red Sea Souk - the industry platform that runs alongside Red Sea International Film Festival - meeting potential international co-production partners, distributors and sales agents.
Set in 1920, the story follows a young couple who fall in love in pre-oil Saudi Arabia. But their love is tested by tribal conflicts and societal expectations, as they navigate the complexities of marriage and family.
Alfarhan is a local star who came to international attention earlier this year with Norah, which became the first Saudi film ever selected for Cannes’ official selection, where it played in Un Certain Regard. Bader starred in thriller Naga, which premiered at Toronto in 2023, and was named an Arab Star of Tomorrow by Screen International the same year.
Dancing On Fire marks the feature directorial debut of Al-Omair, who previously co-write and directed Saudi’s first Netflix original miniseries, Whispers.
The project was developed during the 2022 Red Sea Lodge with Torino Film Lab and received financial support from the Red Sea Fund. It received the $75,000 MBC Academy/Shahid prize, in return for acquisition of distribution rights in the Arab region, during the Red Sea Souk Awards in 2022. Last month, it won four prizes at the 10th Cairo Film Connection funding platform.
Al-Omair and Samir are in the final stages of script development, aiming to begin filming by the end of 2025 during winter, they are scouting locations. While the story is originally set in Wadi Al Dawasir, they are exploring alternative desert locations near Riyadh due to the distance and significant changes to the landscape since the 1920s.
No comments yet