''Champions'' (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: ''أبطال'') is a 2021 Saudi Arabian-Spanish

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by Manuel Calvo. It is an Arabic-language remake of the 2018 Spanish film of the same name. Starring Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi.

Synopsis

After losing a match, Khaled is summoned to a disciplinary court. The sentence comes down and Khaled is forced into unexpected community service: banished from his prestigious job, he must now train a team of amateur players with disabilities. A task he despises, before opening his eyes to these players who are often discriminated against because of their disability.

Cast

* Yassir Al Saggaf as Khaled * Fatima AlBanawi as Nada * Khalid Alharbi as Nasser * Walid Baeshin as The father * Maya Bakhsh * Khairia Nazmi

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

started at the end of February 2020 in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

with plans to shoot for 7 weeks there and then in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, but could not finish filming due to the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The last scenes had to be filmed a year later, at the expense of the lifting of restrictions in the country.

Release

It had its world premiere on December 10, 2021, at the

Red Sea International Film Festival The Red Sea International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان البحر الأحمر السينمائي الدولي) is a film festival launched in 2019 and held in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia. The festival mainly focuses on new storytelling tren ...

. It was released commercially on March 10, 2022, in Saudi Arabian theaters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Champions (2021 film) 2021 films 2021 comedy films Saudi Arabian sports films Saudi Arabian comedy films Spanish sports comedy films 2020s sports comedy films 2020s Arabic-language films Films set in Saudi Arabia Films shot in Saudi Arabia Films about disability Down syndrome in film Remakes of Spanish films Films impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic 2020s Spanish films