release date April 13 2023
ROLL'EM to screen in Saudi Arabia’s Hayy Cinema
Abdulelah Alqurashi's Saudi film ROLL’EM will be screening at Hayy Cinema in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 13th, 14th, and 15th at 11 pm.
Hayy Cinema is a meeting point to watch, learn, and discuss cinema. It includes a theater, community screening room, multimedia library, and an educational exhibition space.
ROLL’EM follows filmmaker Omar Nizar in his early 30s as he tries to make a film about Jeddah. However, he doesn't fully understand the significance of the city to him or the challenges of filming in the kingdom until he meets 70-year-old DOP Farid Lotfy, who has abandoned his passion for cinematography.
ROLL’EM was the first Saudi film to be commercially screened in Saudi theaters after the ban on public theaters was lifted in 2017. It also won the Best Film Award in the Gulf Falcon Competition of the Al Ain Film Festival in the UAE and screened at prestigious film festivals like the Red Sea International Film Festival and Sikka Art and Design Festival.
Written and directed by Alqurashi and co-written by Yaser Hammad, Roll’em features a Saudi cast and crew, including Khaled Yeslam, Shaher Al-Qurashi, Sarah Taibah, and Fatima Al-Banawi. MAD Solutions also handles the film’s marketing and distribution across the Arab world.
Born in Jeddah, Alqurashi is a director and producer who moved to Los Angeles to obtain a master's degree in filmmaking. In addition to writing, producing, and directing, he worked as an actor in several films, including Zaina’s Cake by director Nada Almojadedi.
Since his return from the US at the beginning of 2017, Alqurashi dedicated all his effort, time, and money to develop Roll’em from a script to an actual film. He believes he is capable of establishing a local filmmaking industry in Saudi Arabia and marketing it to the world.
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