Rupture bags best Saudi film in RedSeaIFF

By Anas Alyusuf

JEDDAH – Rupture, directed by Hamzah K. Jamjoom, has bagged the best Saudi feature film at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

British Supermodel Naomi Campbell presented the award to Jamjoom at the Award Ceremony held on Monday evening. The winning of the award marks a qualitative leap for the Saudi film industry as Jamjoom observed. Alberto Lopez and Jamjoom are the script writers of the film produced by Aymen K. Khoja. Rupture was the only Saudi feature film that competed on an international scale at the festival. MBC Group is the production company.

Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Sumaya Rida, the Saudi actress who starred with the American actor Billy Zane in the film, said that the movie is about a Saudi woman facing challenges in her life and how she overcomes them. It tells the story of a pregnant Saudi woman who must distinguish reality from dreams, drug-induced delusions and perceptions of death before a killer gets to her and her family. Her fractured life and memory are not the only things that stand in her way.

The movie’s premier screening was held on Sunday. The actors in the film also include Fayez Bin Jurays, Ross Anderson, Nadia Malaika, Emilio Doorgasingh, Kirsty Besterman, Nicola Harrison and Gabriel Spahiu.

Rida expressed her excitement over the reviews and comments for the film. She also co-starred in the short film Junoon, directed by Maan B and Yaser B Khalid. The film, which was screened on Saturday, competed in the New Waves category. Rida shared her excitement and joy over the big support and wide acceptance received for the Saudi filmmakers in the festival, which, she described as an incredible event.