El-Housh Productions unveiled on Sunday the official poster for the Saudi film "Last Party in R. Desert," directed by Mahmoud Sabbagh. The movie is scheduled for a wide release across Saudi Arabia on May 9, 2024. It mixes drama and dark comedy and is rated for viewers aged 18 and above. "Last Party in R. Desert," penned and directed by Mahmoud Sabbagh, narrates the story of Najm, a money-driven local impresario who roams nightlife spots and junctions with his music band, grappling with professional challenges and a changing scene in contemporary Saudi Arabia. Najm, inheriting the legacy of Kaka Al-Qamar, one of Jeddah's famed wedding singers, gets caught in a saga of burnout and fixation unfolding over an eventful night brimming with surprises, twists, and disturbances. The cast features Abdullah Albarrak as Najm, and Marwa Salem as Kola, the vocalist, with the late Sami Hanafi as Silver, the professional sound engineer, and Radwan Jifri as Tarefi, the oud player. "Last Party in R. Desert" is the third feature by Saudi filmmaker Mahmoud Sabbagh, following "Barakah Meets Barakah" (2016) and "Amra and the Second Marriage" (2018). The latter premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2016, marking the first Saudi feature film at the festival and the second from Saudi Arabia to vie for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards. The filming of "Last Party in R. Desert" was entirely carried out in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stretching from Jeddah to the fringes of Riyadh. El-Housh Productions, a Jeddah-based indie label founded by Sabbagh in 2016, produced the film. Nine Projects joined as co-producer, with Front Row Arabia handling the distribution in Saudi cinemas, and the Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) managing digital distribution in the MENA region. — SG
