LOS ANGELES: Out of 92 films officially selected for the Oscars from around the world, the Oscars listed 88 films that hope to be shortlisted soon again, and Saudi film “Alhamour H.A.” by director Abdulelah Alqurashi is one of them.
“We’re happy about that,” said Alqurashi. “I believe it’s an amazing step. This is the seventh Saudi film to be an official entry for the Oscars. We hope this time for ‘Alhamour H.A.’ to be in the shortlist.
“We are here now in Los Angeles promoting the movie and doing screenings, and we are going to London to do a screening, hopefully to get in the shortlist because we believe the movie, the story itself for the movie, it’s an international story and the way we made this movie, I think internationally people will be more engaged,” he added.
The film builds its drama and black comedy around a true story from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in the 2000s. It follows a security-guard-turned-swindler named Hamed, who quickly rises to the top and makes billions after he and his partners convince people into suspicious investments with the promise of doubling their money in no time.
Alqurashi said: “The movie is about a security guard. In three years by a Ponzi scheme, he made 1.4 billion riyals. Just in three years. So, imagine how they react to it.
“In the same time, I think the movie is about love, friendship and passion, mainly passion for the money. But all of that comes in, in a wrong way and in the wrong path,” he added.
Aside from its commercial success in Saudi, the movie was the first Saudi film to be released commercially in Egypt, which is considered the biggest cinema industry in the Arab world.
“Alhamour H.A.,” which will be released on Netflix on Dec. 21, is a Saudi production with more than 200 locations between Riyadh and Jeddah, and more than 1,500 cast and crew, mostly Saudi.
“We got the talent back in Saudi. Maybe they need more work and study. Maybe more work from the directors, with the talents and with the actors,” said the director. “But yeah, imagine a huge production like Alhamour and the lead is a first time actor and I think Fahad, his name is Fahad Al-Qahtani, I think he did a great work and I think people, even here in the US, they loved it and they didn’t believe that he’s a first-time actor.
“I’m very optimistic about (the movie) because now the hype and the whole entertainment scene in Saudi is growing and becoming much more mature, especially in the cinema industry,” Alqurashi added.
