During a press conference held at 32 BIS Gallery, Tunisia, on Friday March 5, Dhafer LAbidine announced his directorial debut, the feature-length film Ghodwa. He also added that he will star in the film as well as producing it, through his company DOUBLE A, in collaboration with Nomadis Images and MAD Solutions.

Dhafer LAbidine commented: "I always wanted to direct, but I wanted to find the right story. Ghodwa is a story that is very close to my heart, and that I feel strongly about. It`s a Tunisian story, but it`s social and human aspects have universal appeal". The Tunisian actor acknowledged his enthusiasm for producing this film and performing a role in it, in addition to writing the script with the Egyptian filmmaker Ahmed Amer. LAbidine thanked the sponsors of his film project, expressing his pride in cooperating with the producer, Dora Bouchoucha, as well as MAD Solutions, with both of whom he has a long working relationship and friendship.

While Producer Dora Bouchoucha, Founder of Nomadis Images said: "The script of the film "Ghodwa" attracted me, although I usually choose my projects based on the idea behind them before starting to write the script and implement the film”. The Tunisian producer spoke of her admiration for Dhafer Labidine`s script-writing style.

In the same context, Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, Co-founders and Managing Partners of MAD Solutions commented: "We believe that the film will be a very unique experience. From the moment it was born as a project, we could see Dhafer's passion about it, especially that it marks his first time in the director's seat."

Ghodwa follows Ahmed and his estranged sick father, Habib, who are brought together by Habib`s worsening state of health. With a deadline to catch and mounting pressure from unpredictable events, their roles are reversed, a situation neither is prepared for.

Dhafer LAbidine co-stars in the film along with: Najla Ben Abdallah, Bahri Rahali, Ghanem Zrelli, Rabeb Srairi and Ahmed Berrhouma. The film is sponsored by Sabrine for mineral water, Fatales Stores for cosmetic, and Gac Motor.

Recently, Dhafer starred in Netflix`s French-speaking serial drama The Eddy. The series is produced and directed by the Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle (La la Land, Whiplash), written by Jack Throne, and coproduced by Alain Poul. Furthermore, his latest film Bloodline, the first Arabic-speaking vampire horror, is now available on Shahid VIP, and his drama hit, Aroos Beirut, released a second season on MBC4, which received great reviews across the Arab world.
Dhafer is a UN Women`s champion and he works closely with the United Nation on the matters of gender equality and violence against women. In March 2018, Dhafer attended an event titled 'Understanding Masculinities in the Middle East and North Africa Region' at the Japan Society in New York as a guest of honor. The event was organized by the UN Women, Brazilian organization Promundo, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).