RIYADH: Film AlUla, the Royal Commission for AlUla’s movie agency, on Thursday announced that pre-production had begun on the Saudi feature film “Norah,” written and directed by Tawfik Alzaidi.
Produced by Black Sugar Pictures, and Nebras Films, preparations have started, and filming is set to get underway next month with established producers Paul Miller and Sharif Majali onboard.
“Norah” will be the debut feature from Saudi filmmaker Alzaidi, an influential member of the new cinema wave in the Kingdom. The flick will also be the first homegrown feature film to shoot entirely in AlUla.
The movie is set in 1990s Saudi Arabia, when conservatism was at its height and all forms of art and painting were banned.
The titular Norah is a young woman living in a village who finds out that local man, Nader, is an artist. She sets out to have her portrait painted by him, setting in motion a relationship of artistic discovery. As Nader’s artistic inspiration awakens, he introduces Norah to a world of possibilities outside the village.
The untouched location of wilderness and natural beauty of AlUla opened to local, regional, and international production in 2020.
