Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Becomes Film Set for Abdulaziz Alshlahei’s Hobal

Saudi director Abdulaziz Alshlahei will start filming his upcoming feature film, "Hobal," in In NEOM, northwest Saudi Arabia, this September, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The movie will make use of the gorgeous Bajdah Studios and its expansive vistas to produce an epic cinematic experience.

The film will benefit from production support provided by NEOM who are assisting with crew, location scouting, logistics, and on-the-ground production expertise.

The Saudi family at the centre of "Hobal" is one that is alone in the desert in the early 1990s.

The family is forbidden from leaving the desert, as per their grandfather's stern restrictions.

However, a series of events shakes their foundations and pits them in a struggle between life and death.

Among the all-Saudi cast are Mohammed Altoyan and Mishal Almutairi.

The motion picture marks Alshlahei’s third feature film, following the success of Saudi period drama “The Tambour of Retribution,” which received two awards at the Cairo Film Festival and was chosen as the Saudi Arabian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022.

A fund award was given to the scriptwriter of the movie, Mufarrej Al-Majfel, at the Saudi Film Commission's Daw Film Competition, an initiative that was started by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture in September 2019 to support Saudi film production and champion the upcoming generation of filmmakers by establishing a sustainable funding programme to bring Saudi content to the screen and to a wider audience.