Horizons of Arab Cinema · 45th Edition
Holes
Director
Abdulmohsen Aldhabaan
Country
Saudi Arabia
Runtime
1 h 20 min
Language
Arabic
Premiere
MENA premiere (Middle East and North Africa)
Synopsis
The film follows two brothers, Turki and Rakan, after their mother, Fatima, falls into a coma due to a robbery. Holes emerge as a distinctive, recurring visual motif in the film, which boldly blends film noir with visual minimalism. A single mistake can mark you for life. We witness the consequences through a steady camera and simple script, allowing room for the restrained emotions of characters on the verge of eruption as their “holes” widen and spiral out of control.
Cast
Meshal Almutairi, Maryam Abdulrahman
Screenplay
Fahad Al-Astaa, Abdulmohsen Al-Dhabaan
Producers
Aymen Al- Naqib, Abdulrahman Altikhais
About the Director
Abdulmohsen Aldhabaan is an independent Saudi writerdirector and co-founder of Talashi Films, which was established in 2008. He has directed several short films, including Three Men and a Woman (2009) and The Incomplete Chronicles of a Folk Tale (2010). Al-Dhabaan also co-created and directed the critically acclaimed TV drama series 42 Days. His debut feature film, Last Visit (2019), became the first Arab film selected for the East of the West Competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and earned him the Jury Award at the Marrakech International Film Festival.
Screenings