As the entertainment industry in Saudi Arabia is booming, more and more filmmakers, actors and actresses are being spotlighted, and not just locally but internationally as well. This week we’ve got our eye on Saudi comedy movie, “Sattar”, that is set to premiere in the British capital, London. It will screen in the famed Odeon Covent Garden. The Saudi Arabian cast features Ibrahim Al-Hajjaj and Abdulaziz Alshehri, who will also be present in London at the time of the premiere.
Sattar talks about your regular Saudi man who’s going through life chasing his dreams, namely of becoming a professional wrestler. We follow him through his journey as he faces some bottlenecks that include an embarrassing video of him going viral. The other protagonist in the story is a famous wrestling manager who comes to his aid, Ali Hogeen played by Abdulaziz Alshehri.
Al-Hajjaj spoke to Arab News about how his acting journey was, “There were so many exciting moments during the shoot but I’m happy that I could learn wrestling. That’s the beauty of the acting industry, that you learn new stuff in every role, so I’m really happy about that.” It was reported that Al-Hajjaj had to lose 15 kg to prepare for the movie.
Sattar has previously premiered in Saudi Arabia in December, and has found huge success due to its lighthearted nature. “This movie is really important in the context of the Saudi film industry because it’s a local commercial film and one of our beginner initiatives, and we won’t stop at that. There’ll be many films to come,” Al-Hajjaj added.
Some comedic styles in Saudi films can reflect the cultural and social realities of the kingdom. Many Saudi director have brilliantly tackled cultural topics in a lighthearted manner, while others focused on family and social relationships. But as a whole, the way comedy is portrayed in Saudi film always presents a diverse form of self expression and storytelling.
One of the movie stars, Alshehri reiterates that in a talk with Arab News, saying “We are a society that loves comedy. We love to laugh and joke around, and that’s our goal with this.”
