DUBAI: Saudi Arabia-based film “Hajjan,” directed by Egyptian filmmaker Abu Bakr Shawky, got its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this week.
“Hajjan” tells the story of Matar, a boy who embarks on a journey across the desert with his camel, Hofira.
The movie is a co-production between the Kingdom’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy’s Film Clinic.
Ahead of the premiere, Hefzy spoke to Ithra and said: “I feel that the feedback today will be very positive. I have strong faith in the movie. I rarely have expectation when I go to a festival or attend a premiere, but today I am very optimistic.
“I am also excited to see the movie for the first time on a big screen with the sound, the final mix, the effects and the color edits in a cinema with audience,” Hefzy added.
The movie, which is written by Omar Shama from Egypt and the Kingdom’s Mufarrij Almajfel, stars Saudi actors Abdulmohsen Al-Nemer, Ibrahim Al-Hsawi and more.