Later this year, 'Rebel' and 'Saint Omer' will be released across the Middle East and North Africa.
Two of Front Row Filmed Entertainment’s films, Rebel, a thriller directed by duo Adil El Arbi and Billall Fallah, as well as Saint Omer, a French drama directed by Alice Diop have snatched awards at the latest edition of the Al Ain International Film Festival, which took place this weekend in the UAE.
Rebel, which premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival before having its MENA premiere at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, KSA last December, won the Best Director award. The film, which follows the story of a young Belgian-Moroccan man that gets forcefully recruited by ISIS, currently boasts a score of 100% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and has been widely well-received critically across the globe and lauded for its anti-radicalisation themes.
On the other hand, Saint Omer, which was France’s official entry to the Oscars, had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and also premiered in the MENA at the Red Sea Film Festival, won the Jury Award in the International section. Saint Omer’s approach to tackling the issue of immigration in France through the eyes of a mother saw the film receive wide international acclaim.
Speaking about the awards, Gianluca Chakra, Front Row’s CEO, said: “We’re delighted to see that both Rebel and Saint Omer received the acclaim that they deserved. Both films are absolute gems and the filmmakers managed to find a unique approach to tackle timely and sensitive issues, and that is a credit to them. We can’t wait for audiences here to see the films.”
Rebel and Saint Omer are both set to be released in the MENA later this year. Front Row Filmed Entertainment is handling all MENA rights with Wild Bunch handling international sales.
