Bint Al-Sayyad
Synopsis:
“No good deed goes unpunished”. In a dystopian Arab fishing village, Salma faces the harsh reality of her world but refuses to abandon kindness, even when it comes at a cost.
Why this story?
I’ve been fascinated by the power of visual storytelling. My journey started with small projects, filming whatever caught my eye, and gradually evolved into working on sets in various roles—editing, sound recording, lighting, and eventually directing. Each experience shaped my understanding of film, teaching me how every detail, from a single frame to the flow of sound, contributes to the story being told.
Filmmaking, to me, is about exploration. It’s about pushing creative boundaries, capturing emotions, and creating worlds that feel real and lived-in. I’m especially drawn to stories that challenge perspectives and transport audiences into new realities.
We imagined a place that would be a metaphor of the Arab world in its state right now. A place of division and conflict.
I quickly started working on sketches of the world while my co-writer started drafting few dialogues that could be interesting in such a story.
A first mind map of the different dynamics within the film.
First location scout in a village up north called Al Ruwais village. An old fishing village in the 50s in Qatar.
Initial designs of wardrobe designs and tools
One of my favorite projects has been creating a post-apocalyptic Arab fishing village—an idea inspired by a mix of history, culture, and a deep curiosity about how communities adapt to extreme conditions. I’ve worked closely with a team to bring this world to life, from designing costumes that blend traditional and survivalist aesthetics to experimenting with practical effects. I love immersing myself in these details, making sure every part of the world adds to the bigger story.
Pre-Production
We luckily managed to prepare a solid pitch and and presented it in front of a grant board constituted by big filmmakers such as Rana Kazkaz and the Doha Film Institute.
Few weeks after we have received the grant and pre-production had to start.
I went through a good dozen of iterations of scripting scattered over 3 months of summer, during which I traveled to a city in Morocco called Essaouira from which I have draw a lot of inspiration of the visual language of the film.
I also worked on 3D renders of how the visuals of the location and the overall mood of it would look like.
As well as made a traditional moodboard of the visuals.
Casting
And here was my main cast. Raghad Shata as Salma, Ahmed Badawi as Tariq, and Jiji as Leila.
After over 6 months of crafting and coordinating the team, from art and props to the production preparation of taking over 80 people cast and crew to the desert.
Production
And then started a 3 weeks (6 days shoot) in the middle of the desert frenzy.
And of course a shoot never comes with its shower of surprises, good and bad. But as a team we always adapted and made sure to keep everything on track for the story to come to life.
Post-Production
As we are still in the process of post production and are planning to finish the film soon and send it to festival over the few upcoming months, you can follow us on our Instagram to be up to date with what we are doing at the momentⵜⵉⴽⴽⵍⵜ ⵏⵏⴰ ⴷ ⵢⴰⴽⴽⴰ ⵓⴼⴳⴰⵏ — ⴰⵀⴰ ⵉⴳⴰ ⵓⴼⴳⴰⵏ
Once creative — always creative
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