The film stars Najla Ben Abdallah, Bahri Rahali, Ghanem Zrelli, Rabeb Srairi and Ahmed Berrhouma among others.
During a press conference held at 32 BIS Gallery, Tunisia, Dhafer L’Abidine has announced his directorial debut, the feature-length film Ghodwa. He also added that he will star in the film as well as producing it, through his company Double A, in collaboration with Nomadis Images and MAD Solutions.
Speaking about the directorial debut, Dhafer L’Abidine commented: “I always wanted to direct, but I wanted to find the right story. Ghodwa is a story that is very close to my heart, and that I feel strongly about. It’s a Tunisian story, but it’s social and human aspects have universal appeal.”
The Tunisian actor acknowledged his enthusiasm for producing the film and performing a role in it, in addition to writing the script with the Egyptian filmmaker Ahmed Amer.
Producer Dora Bouchoucha, Founder of Nomadis Images added: “The script of the film Ghodwa attracted me, although I usually choose my projects based on the idea behind them before starting to write the script and implement the film”.
Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, Co-founders and Managing Partners of MAD Solutions commented: “We believe that the film will be a very unique experience. From the moment it was born as a project, we could see Dhafer’s passion for it, especially that it marks his first time in the director’s seat.”
The story revolves around a father-son duo. After years of living apart, Habib and his son Ahmed are brought together by Habib’s worsening state of health. With a deadline to catch and mounting pressure from unpredictable events, their roles are reversed, a situation neither is prepared for.
The film stars Najla Ben Abdallah, Bahri Rahali, Ghanem Zrelli, Rabeb Srairi and Ahmed Berrhouma among others.
Recently, Dhafer starred in Netflix’s French-speaking serial drama The Eddy, produced and directed by the Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle (La-la Land, Whiplash). Furthermore, his latest film Bloodline, the first Arabic-speaking vampire horror, is now available on Shahid VIP, and his drama hit, Aroos Beirut, released a second season on MBC4, which received great reviews across the Arab world.
Dhafer is a UN Women’s champion and he works closely with the United Nation on the matters of gender equality and violence against women.
