MBC Studios has revealed intentions to adapt Osamah Almuslim’s best-selling novel “Travelers’ Hell” (Jahim Al-Abirin) into a feature film. This project marks a watershed moment in Saudi cinema and highlights the Kingdom’s thriving and developing entertainment industry.
Production is scheduled to commence in the first half of 2025. The film will be directed by Hana Al-Omair, a well-known Saudi filmmaker who recently became a creative director at MBC Studios. Almuslim will create the screenplay, adapting his compelling tale about a highway where passengers inexplicably vanish into a cinematic experience.
The announcement was made during the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah. This demonstrates the growing importance of Saudi narratives in the regional media landscape. The adaptation is part of a larger collaboration between MBC Studios and Almuslim, which aims to expose the author’s vast literary universe to film and television viewers.
Almuslim, who has written approximately 30 works, is regarded as a pioneering voice in Saudi writing, notably in the horror, fantasy, and suspense categories. His works have earned widespread appreciation, and readers around the Arab world are clamouring for film versions.
“I am delighted by this partnership with MBC Group, which will mark the beginning of several projects exploring the vast world I have created over the past decade,” Almuslim told me. This cooperation supports MBC Studios’ commitment to creating original Arabic entertainment. The studio is also developing adaptations of Almuslim’s other works, such as the horror novel “Khawf (Fear)” and the fantasy story “Rise of the Witches.”
For Al-Omair, the project represents an exciting challenge. “I’ve always enjoyed making films adapted from other sources. These projects allow me to participate in a creative dialogue through my directing,” she explained. She sees a lot of potential in Almuslim’s storytelling style, which combines suspense, mystery, horror, and elements of local custom.
The release of “Travelers’ Hell” coincides with a watershed moment in Saudi cinema, which has substantially transformed since the cinema ban was abolished in 2017. MBC Studios, the production arm of the Middle East and North Africa’s largest media organization, plays an important part in this cultural transition by supporting local and foreign projects.
The film is set to be released in theatres across Saudi Arabia and the Arab world, promising to share Almuslim’s enigmatic story with a wider audience and maybe introduce worldwide viewers to contemporary Saudi storytelling.