Saudi Arabian Romantic-Comedy BARAKAH YOQABIL BARAKAH World Premiere @ Forum

Introducing the Stars of 

BARAKAH YOQABIL BARAKAH

(BARAKAH MEETS BARAKAH)

 

 A Film by Mahmoud Sabbagh

Hisham Fageeh & Fatima Al Banawi

Hisham Fageeh is an Actor/Producer/Writer from Saudi Arabia. Perhaps most-known for his 2013 viral video “No Woman, No Drive”, Fageeh focuses on satirical content in both Arabic and English. Studying and graduating from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCBT) while doing his masters at Columbia University in New York, his love for theater and improv grew. He continued studying, doing musical theater at Magnet Theater and long form at the Annoyance Theater. Now based in Jeddah, where he resides with his wife, part of the small but growing movement of film creatives in the country.

Fatima Al Banawi is a young Saudi social media provocateur, activist, scholar, and most recently an actress. She co-founded a Theater of the oppressed chapter in Jeddah, and recently founded The Other Story Project, to continue an open engagement with people through story writing. Her Masters degree from Harvard University in Theological Studies, with focus on Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion, alongside her work against violence at the Family Protection Society, helped her renew and tailor her art to today's social demands. This often results in her solution to be art, and not merely to make it.

About the Film

 

Barakah (Hisham Fageeh) is a Saudi municipal civil servant whose origins are humble to say the least, while Bibi (Fatima Al Banawi) is a wild beauty, the adopted daughter of a rich couple who functions as a crowd-puller for her stylish adoptive mother’s boutique and has become ultra-famous via her own widely-seen vlog. When Barakah and Bibi meet by chance at a photoshoot the two share a kinetic moment. Could it be love at first sight? And what could a municipal agent and a gorgeous media-star possibly have in common?

Inspired by their mutual feelings of attraction, the young would-be-couple set out to get to know each other better. But under the ever-watchful eye of authority - where meeting in public unchaperoned is prohibited and physical contact is verboten - Barakah and Bibi find themselves in a near-impossible situation trying just to go on a first date.

BARAKAH YOQABIL BARAKAH is a remarkably candid Saudi Arabian love story. Using stabs of acerbic humor, the film gives an insightful look into a time and place where tradition clashes with the modern world of smartphones and social-media. Featuring breakout performances from Fageeh and Al-Banawi the film marks an inspiring debut by first-time feature writer/director Mahmoud Sabbagh.

Media Opportunities

Mahmoud Sabbagh, Hisham Fageeh, and Fatima Al Banawi

Friday, 12 February  - Monday, 15 February

Festival Screenings

*World Premiere* - Friday, 12 February at 21:30 - Delphi

Saturday, 13 February at 22:00 - CineStar 8

*P&I* - Sunday, 14 February at 14:00 - CinemaxX 6

Monday, 15 February at 19:30 - Zoo-Palast 2

*Market Screening* - Tuesday, 16 February at 15:45 - CinemaxX16

*Market Screening* - Thursday, 18 February at 10:00 - CinemaxX 11

Sunday, 21 February at 20:00 - Cubix 9