Saudi Arabia’s Groundbreaking Telfaz11 Studio Announces Satirical Film ‘Saify’ Involving Banned Religious Sermons
Saudi studio Telefaz11, the groundbreaking label behind hit dark comedy “Mandoob” — in which a struggling man becomes a bootleg booze runner in Ryadh — is set to push the kingdom’s cultural envelope a bit further with a humorous take on the world of Saudi Arabia’s ultraconservative clerics.
Telfaz11 has announced that its next title will be the satirical drama “Saify,” directed by studio chief Wael Abu Mansour and set against the backdrop of the late 1990s, a time when, incidentally, cinema was banned.
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“Saify” revolves around its titular character, a man in his 40s who is “clinging to the dream of quick wealth despite his poor skills by holding on to his small cassette shop which sells banned religious sermons,” according to the provided synopsis.
During the 1990s, dozens of stores in Riyadh and other Saudi cities sold cassettes of recorded sermons that expanded the popularity of Islamic clerics. However, some religious sermons were banned, including ones by influential religious figure Salman al-Odah, known for his 1990s sermons “Come for Jihad” and “The Industry of Death” that circulated on clandestine audiotapes throughout Saudi Arabia.
The Telfaz11 “Saify” synopsis does not specify whether al-Odah is part of the film’s narrative; it just says the film will offer viewers “a captivating blend of satirical drama and suspense.”
“Saify” will mark Mansour’s sophomore feature following his desert-set atmospheric drama “Carnival City,” which launched from Saudi’s Red Sea International Film Festival in 2020.
Telfaz11 plans to release “Saify,” which stars Osama Alqess (“Last Visit”), Aixa Kay, Baraa Alem, Nour Alkhadra and Husam AlHarthi, in Saudi theaters later this year.
After Saudi’s religion-related ban on cinema was lifted in late 2017, Telfaz11 has positioned itself at the forefront of the region’s film industry thanks to a string of somewhat subversive hit movies. Beyond “Mandoob,” this has included the action-comedy “Sattar” — which last year broke local box office records for a homegrown title — and emerging director Meshal Al Jaser’s “Naga,” centered around a young woman who goes on a date and takes drugs in the desert, which made a splash at the 2023 Red Sea fest and is now playing on Netflix.
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