DUBAI: The dark comedic crime thriller “Mandoob,” supported by the Red Sea Film Foundation, this week had its world premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.
Directed by Saudi filmmaker, writer and producer Ali Kalthami, the movie is set in Riyadh and tells the story of Fahad Al-Gadaani, a mentally fragile man racing against time to save his sick father.
Al-Gadaani’s life takes an unexpected turn when he is fired from his call center job and is forced to make ends meet by working as a delivery driver.
Kalthami said: “I was always drawn to underground subcultures in cities, and I know that Riyadh has many of these underground labyrinths and intersections and social phenomena that not many see in everyday life on the surface.”
The premiere was attended by Kalthami, screenwriter Mohammad Algarawi and Saudi actors Mohammed Aldokhei, who plays Fahad, and Hajjar Alshammari, who stars as Sara.
The Red Sea Film Foundation has also supported other movies that will screen at the prestigious festival: “Four Daughters” by Kaouther Ben Hania, “The Mother of All Lies” by Asmae El-Moudir, and “Banel & Adama” by Ramata-Toulaye Sy.
