Saudi film ‘Champions’ begins shoot in Jeddah

Oscar-winning producer Andre Vicente Gomez is now shooting his second Saudi Arabian film, Champions, in Jeddah, ahead of a scheduled Dubai shoot.

Gomez last year released the Saudi historical epic ‘Born a King’, which followed the true story of young Prince Faisal, aged 13, as he visited the United Kingdom.

‘Champions’, filming for seven weeks in Jeddah, is helmed by director Manuel Calvo. The 90-minute film is a remake of the Spanish film Campeones, adapted to the Arab market by Saudi scribes Maram Taibah and Wael Al Saeed.

It tracks the story of Ittihad assistant coach Khaled, who becomes frustrated after a stressful match and finds himself in sports court due to bad behaviour. After losing his job, he takes on his so-called punishment of coaching a group of players with intellectual disabilities who have never been part a professional team. But on the way, he learns what truly matters in life.

‘Champions’ stars The Voice host Yassir Al Saggaf and actress Fatima Al Banawi (Barakah Meets Barakah). The film’s cast also features Jeddah-based people with intellectual disabilities, many of them recruited from the Help Center with the help of its director, Maha Al Juffali.

The crew of ‘Champions’ comprises 90 film professionals