By Rohani Mohd Ibrahim
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- An Egyptian movie, partly shot in Malaysia in July, is scheduled to hit about 500 cinemas in 25 countries across the Arab world, home to about 492 million people, next month.
Infinity Films Sdn Bhd executive producer Abdulrahman Suud said the family action comedy movie, previously known as Mr VIP, had been retitled Wanted By Family and will screen in cinemas in Egypt on Oct 7.
“On Oct 8, the movie will be released in cinemas across the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Iraq and Lebanon,” he told Bernama.
Wanted By Family, a joint production by Malaysia’s Infinity Films Sdn Bhd and Egypt’s Synergy Plus, is about a supermarket manager and his family who face unexpected adventures.
The movie, starring leading Egyptian actor Karim Abdel Aziz, actress Yasmine Sabri and actor-comedian Mostafa Khater, is directed by Moataaz El Tony.
The film’s promotional materials, such as posters and trailers, have been widely shared by production houses in the Gulf countries on their social media accounts since Sept 22.
They feature Malaysia’s iconic landmarks, including the Petronas Twin Towers, Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad and the Kuala Lumpur city landscape.
Judging from the comments, Arabic-speaking movie lovers around the world are excited about the movie’s release.
“Can’t wait,” said an Instagram user ysonly22, while another user, ahmed_amr2004, commented, “It will be the highest revenue in the history of Arab cinema”.
Elaborating on the film’s promotion, Abdulrahman said he believed it could contribute to Malaysia’s tourism industry by attracting movie lovers from the Arab world, especially fans of Karim and Yasmine, to visit locations featured in Wanted By Family.
“And that is what Infinity Films’ goal is: to feature Malaysia’s attractions in the movie,” said the Egypt-born former actor-turned-businessman, who has made Malaysia his home for the past 30 years.
Filming in Malaysia over nine days, mainly in the Klang Valley, with several scenes shot in Genting Highlands, accounted for around 45 per cent of the movie.
He said Malaysia was chosen because the country has many attractions and the Egyptian team feels safe and at home working here.
According to Abdulrahman, discussions are underway to screen Wanted By Family in Malaysian cinemas.
He said the Egyptian production team was already planning to shoot another movie in Malaysia to feature several other destinations across the country.
-- BERNAMA