Saudi film Roll’em, by director Abdulelah Alqurashi, shall screen at the 10th edition of Sikka Art and Design Festival (March 15th - 24th), which is held under the umbrella of Dubai Art Season.
The film’s screening will take place on Thursday, March 24th, at 7:00 PM (GMT +4) at the Al Fahidi Historical District, presented by Locomotion Community Cinema.
Sikka Art and Design Festival is a unique celebration of visual and performing arts and films, that is held annually in Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood in March under the umbrella of Dubai Art Season.
The Festival’s 10th edition is being held under the theme ‘Celebrating Art, Celebrating Growth’ and under its new umbrella, the Sikka Art and Design Platform, which seeks to support the professional growth journey of emerging creative talent.
Roll’em is an independent film with a Saudi cast and crew. The film has previously won the Best Film Award at the 1st Al Ain Film Festival. Roll’em marked the first Saudi film to be released in Saudi theaters.
The film was released in 2019 in VOX Cinemas in Jeddah and Riyadh, and was also released on Shahid.net, becoming the first Saudi film to be screened on the platform for Arab audiences. In addition, it was screened at the Aarhus Arab Film Festival, and Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival.
The film tells the story of Omar Nizar, a filmmaker in his early thirties. He is trying to make a film about Jeddah, but Omar is unaware of what Jeddah means to him and the difficulties of filmmaking in the Kingdom until he gets to know the 70-year-old DOP, Farid Lotfy who gave up his passion for cinematography is devoted to his antiques shop.
Written and directed by Abdulelah 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 AlBanawi.
MAD Solutions handles the film’s marketing and distribution across the Arab world.
Born in Jeddah, Abdulelah 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 turn Roll’em from script to screen.
He believes he is capable of establishing a local film making industry in Saudi Arabia and presenting it to the world.