Saudi Arabia Picks 'A Matter of Life and Death' for Oscars Race
Saudi Arabia has selected Anas Ba Tahaf's "A Matter of Life and Death" as its candidate for the international feature film Oscar, Variety reported. The category honours films made outside the United States. The winners of the 99th Academy Awards are due to be announced on March 14 in Los Angeles, according to the same report.
The film is the directorial debut of Ba Tahaf, a Jeddah-based Yemeni director, as described by Deadline and Variety. He previously worked as co-producer, editor and first assistant director on Mahmoud Sabbagh's "Barakah Meets Barakah", Variety reported. That earlier film represented Saudi Arabia at the 89th Academy Awards.
"A Matter of Life and Death" stars Sarah Taibah and Yaqoub Alfarhan and is set in Jeddah, according to Variety. Taibah plays Hayat. The production runs 115 minutes, in Arabic with English subtitles, and is listed by the Red Sea International Film Festival as a comedy, romance and dark comedy.
It began its public life at home. The film had its world premiere, its very first screening for an audience, at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Variety reported. It then played the Saudi Film Festival, where it received a jury special mention. Taibah won an acting award there for her performance as Hayat.
The theatrical rollout followed. It opened in cinemas across Saudi Arabia in June and took roughly US$600,000 at the box office in that market, according to Variety. That figure covers ticket sales in Saudi Arabia only. No worldwide total has been disclosed.
Behind the camera, the film brings together several established production outfits. It was produced by Mohamed Hefzy for Film Clinic, Gianluca Chakra for Front Row Filmed Entertainment, and Abdulelah Alahmary and Ahmad Taema for Arabia Pictures, with support from the Red Sea Fund, Variety reported. Front Row Filmed Entertainment is also handling international sales, the business of licensing the film to distributors in other countries.
What makes this stand out for regular cinemagoers is the continuity. A first-time director with credits on a previous Saudi Oscar entry now returns with his own film. The Academy will decide in the coming months whether it advances to the shortlist and then to a nomination.
