Jeddah-Set Saudi Fantasy Romance ‘HWJN’ To Open Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival

Melanie Goodfellow
·4 min read

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival will open its third edition, running from November 30 to December 9, with local movie HWJN, a fantasy romance combining Arabian folklore with modern themes that unfolds against the backdrop of the event’s home of Jeddah.

Deadline exclusively revealed a trailer for the production earlier this year. Watch it here.

More from Deadline

The choice of a Saudi movie marks a break with Red Sea’s first two editions – which kicked off with English-language features Cyrano and What’s Love Got To Do With It? in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

HWJN is the most ambitious production to date to come out of a partnership between major Gulf players Image Nation Abu Dhabi, VOX Studios and MBC Studios first announced in Cannes in 2019.

“Opening the festival with a highly anticipated film like HWJN is a momentous event,” RSIFF Arab Programs & Film Classics Director Antoine Khalife said of the opening night honor, which comes just six years after Saudi Arabia announced the lifting it 35-year cinema ban.

“With HWJN, Saudi cinema proves its capacity to bring together talents from across the Arab world at both the production and artistic levels. Through this choice, the Red Sea not only honors Saudi cinema but also all Arab talents, highlighting the remarkable progress that the Kingdom has witnessed in recent times,” he continued.

Mohammed Al-Turki, CEO of festival parent body the Red Sea Film Foundation, said the choice of HWJN was a testament to how far the Saudi film biz has come in such a short time.

“As a Saudi filmmaker myself this is a transformative moment. It is both exciting and humbling for us to be the center of growth for film in the region by providing a platform that is recognized on a global stage. We are thrilled to kick off our upcoming edition with HWJN,” he said.

The film is screening as part of the festival’s previously announced Arab Spectacular line-up.

With two weeks to go until its opening, the Red Sea has announced some 50 titles to date, with confirmed international films so far including Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman Of The Hour and family drama Mother Couch, starring Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn.

More international titles are expected in the coming days but the combination of regional tensions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict and the ending of the SAG-Aftra strikes has slowed the festival’s tying up of the final program.

Rising Saudi actor Baraa Alem, whose previous credits include 2020 hit The Book of Sun, stars in HWJN as the titular kind-hearted jinn spirit who lives among humans in modern-day Jeddah.

HWJN’s discovery that he has royal lineage sets him on an epic journey to reclaim his birth right while battling ancient evils to maintain the harmonious balance between the spirit world and that of mankind.

Along the way, he meets and develops an unexpected romantic connection with Sawsan (Nour Alkhadra), a young medical student.

HWJN is adapted from the best-selling Young Adult fantasy novel by Saudi writer Ibraheem Abbas.

The novel made first waves in Saudi Arabia in 2013, prior to the opening up of the country, after its pioneering combination of Western sci-fi tropes and Arabic culture and folklore proved a hit with young readers.

Iraqi Dubai-based director Yasir Al Yasiri directs and also takes a producer credit under his Axx Productions banner.

Al Yasiri’s previous credits include first film Shabab Sheyab (2018), which world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, survival thriller 122 (2019) and Starzplay fantasy-folklore series Kaboos.

“The story of HWJN is an epic tale of romance, adventure, and culture that has resonated with millions in Saudi and beyond. Bringing this beloved novel to life as a movie has been an extraordinary journey and a landmark achievement for regional cinema,” said Al Yasiri.

“It’s profoundly meaningful for us to open this year’s Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah – the city where HWJN’s story was born, and which plays a pivotal role in the narrative. This premiere is not just a tribute to the film’s journey, but also to Jeddah’s vibrant culture and history, which inspired us immensely. We are extremely proud of what we have created together and eagerly await the audience’s reaction to seeing it on the big screen.”

The screenplay adaptation was co-written Al Yasiri by Ibraheem Abbas, Sarah Taibah, and Hussam Alhulwah.

Filmmakers Majid Al Ansari (Zinzana) and Saad Al Albutaily (Cherry) take executive producer credits on the production.

The original book was published by Yatakhayaloon, which is founded by Yasser Bahjatt and Ibraheem Abbas.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.