Saudi Arabia’s Oscar Submission ‘Alhamour H.A.’ Pulled off a ‘Wolf of Wall Street’-esque Epic for $5 Million
variety.comCaroline Brew editor Director Abdulelah Alqurashi sat down with Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay at Variety’s Artisans Screening Series to break down his film “Alhamour H.A.,” Saudi Arabia’s official Oscars submission.
The film is based on the true story of one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest con artists, a former security guard named Hamed who grows rich by convincing people to make dubious investments.
Alqurashi lived in Jedda as a banker while the scam was happening. He was inspired to make the film after one of his friends fell for one of the investments. “I wasn’t a filmmaker, but the way he told me the story, it was that scene, and how greed affects people and to trust no one… I think the whole story comes from that,” he said.
When asked about comparisons between his film and “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Alqurashi welcomes them. “To have my name close to Scorsese in the same article, that’s amazing.
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