NEOM’s landscape inspired the filmmaking and writing of the first-ever movie shot in the Saudi city, the director of the feature told Al Arabiya English ahead of its theater release on Thursday.
“Filming in NEOM was a fantastic experience as the breathtaking landscape perfectly encapsulated the essence of our film,” director Mohammed Alatawi said. The story – reminiscent of an American western featuring vast and rugged terrain, horses, heroes, and villains – is “rooted in culture,” the director of ‘Within Sand’ said.
A cast member of the Within Sand movie in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)
“NEOM’s location played a significant role in inspiring the filmmaking process and scenes,” he added. The scouting process coincided with the film’s writing and the director mentioned being inspired by the locations in Bajdah – an area of red sands and towering sandstone rock formations.
NEOM has state-of-the-art TV and film production facilities, including purpose-built sound stages, set production offices, construction warehouses, prop shops, wardrobes, SFX facilities, and backlot space to support complex set builds. They offer over 40 percent cash rebates for TV, film, and commercial shoots.
For ‘Within Sand,’ cameras follow a merchant who traverses the Saudi deserts, shot entirely in NEOM, to reach the village where his wife is about to give birth. Along the way, the movie documents his struggles and the challenges he faces in nature.
A cast member of the Within Sand movie in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)
The movie “required the right environment,” and “NEOM provided the crucial backdrop, allowing us to capture the essence of the narrative from both an artistic and cultural perspective,” Alatawi said.
As one of the first movies shot in the vast expanse of NEOM, Alatawi said that filming in a location never used for movies posed “unique challenges.” In addition to the fresh location, the movie also features a trained wolf from the Horkai Centre in Hungary, adding another layer of complexity to the shoot.
“Managing the intricacies of blocking and rehearsing with the wolf posed its challenges, and respecting its natural habitat was also one of them,” Alatawi said.
According to the director, he and the wolf wrangler heard distant wolf howls during one rehearsal. Alaltawi said the wrangler had stressed ensuring the filming location did not intrude on another wolf pack’s territory.
A cast member of the Within Sand movie with a wofl in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)
Over the last 18 months, NEOM landscapes have been featured in Rupert Wyatt’s ‘Desert Warrior,’ starring Anthony Mackie and Sir Ben Kingsley; ‘Dunki’ directed by Rajkumar Hirani and starring Shahrukh Khan; the first regional reality TV show ‘Million Dollar Island’; and ‘Rise of The Witches’, the region’s biggest-ever budget TV show.
“The grand scale of the desert in our film necessitated careful planning and responsibility… so balancing the need to safeguard the location with the liberation of capturing a story in such a grand setting presented a challenge,” the young director said.
NEOM Media Industries provided financial and logistical support to the crew, whose cast is fully Saudi, with 80 percent making their acting debut.
“Extensive auditions were carried out, which revealed to us a remarkable pool of talent,” Alatawi said. The actors were enrolled in classes to “ensure they hone in on their existing natural talent” to be able to “authentically capture” Saudi heritage, culture, and mannerisms.
“One key aspect is the accent. We needed to stay faithful to the dialect of the area and the time. Working with a dialect expert ensured authenticity in linguistic representation. Additionally, close collaboration with local tribes played a vital role. Incorporating their practices and local expertise, such as survival tactics, enriched the film and directly influenced the main character’s journey,” he said.
The movie debuted at the Red Sea International Film Festival in 2022 and launched in Saudi theaters on Thursday.
