Front Row acquires MENA rights to Saudi desert action thriller “Route 10”

Middle East and North Africa distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment acquires regional distribution rights for the action film from Saudi Arabia. route 10, Starring the local talent Fátima Albanavi and Bara Alem.

The company plans to launch a large-scale theatrical release in Saudi Arabia on July 28 through Front Row Arabia, a joint venture with Muvi Cinemas, an exhibition at the largest house in the area.

The partners launched the label in early 2021, in response to Saudi Arabia’s growing demand for feature-length content in theaters, following the lifting of a 35-year ban on cinemas in late 2017.

Front Row will also release titles in other MENA areas at the same time.

The film is part of a growing group of Saudi Arabian art productions that have been released over the past 12 months as the local film industry took root.

The Saudi box office, which is expected to reach $ 1 billion a year by 2030, has so far been dominated by Hollywood tickets, but regional professionals estimate that local films are also in high demand among the population of 35 million, about two-thirds. Of which they are under 35 years old.

Directed by Lebanese director Omar Naimi, route 10 Produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi and MBC Studios, a production subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian media and entertainment conglomerate MBC Group.

Actor and director Albanavi, known internationally for his role in the revolutionary 2016 Saudi romantic comedy. baraka meets barakaAnd rising star Alem plays a brother and sister living in Riyadh who miss a flight to attend their father’s wedding in the UAE, Abu Dhabi.

They decide to go to Abu Dhabi. Instead, take 10 famous routes through the vast wilderness of the region’s empty quarter. The journey takes an unexpected turn when an angry stranger follows them and they find themselves in a struggle for life.

The film’s world premiere took place in December last year at the country’s first Red Sea International Film Festival, along with a dozen other new films from Saudi Arabia.

“We strongly believe in Saudi Arabia’s potential talent and look forward to promoting Saudi and Middle Eastern cinema in the region and around the world in general,” said Janluca Chakra, CEO of Front Row.

“route 10 It’s a tense, incredibly entertaining film, and a unique proposition in the Saudi Arabian market.

The deal was brokered by Chakra and Front Row Head of Distribution and Acquisition Eli Tuma, Image Nation Chief Content Officer Ben Ross and Stuart Tilly for MBC Studios.