Front Row is planning to explore different aspects of the Hafez story through feature films, TV series, docuseries and a podcast series.
MENA-based production company Front Row Productions — a joint venture between distributors Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment — has acquired the exclusive life rights to Sally Hafez, the Lebanese woman who stormed a bank to access her savings in September 2022 during Lebanon’s financial crisis, in which citizens were illegally restricted from drawing from their accounts due to an unofficial capital control imposed by Lebanese banks. Hafez demanded access to her account to use the money to fund her sister’s cancer treatment at the time.
The company plans to explore different aspects of her story by creating a variety of media content through feature films, TV series, docu-series, and a podcast series by looking at the various angles of Sally’s unique but relatable journey from a patriotic activist to a disenfranchised citizen taking it upon herself to be divisive.
Against the backdrop of Lebanon’s most severe economic crisis, marked by banks illegally withholding depositors’ funds, Sally took bold action. Armed with her nephew’s toy gun and a mixture of water and fuel, she confronted Blom Bank in Beirut. Threatening self-immolation, Hafez succeeded in reclaiming $13,000 and 30,000,000 Lebanese Pounds, obtaining a receipt to avoid theft charges. Although she faced a minor fine from a local judge, she was subsequently released by police.
Sally Hafez’s story cannot be viewed in a vacuum, but rather explores and exposes a wider context where citizens are increasingly demoralised and pushed to extreme desperation when all the structures put in place to uphold rights and civility cease to exist. Her story is also a powerful testament to a woman’s agency within the context of a society driven by the policies of a patriarchal and corrupt system, which eventually cornered her into taking matters into her own hands.
Sally received widespread attention globally, particularly in Lebanon, where people’s frustration reached its zenith. Her actions sparked a ripple effect, empowering others to pursue the recovery of their funds. This pressure ultimately compelled Lebanese banks to shutter their doors, later reopening by appointment only. Sally’s narrative garnered extensive international coverage from high-profile media outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, Sky News, Vice, NBC, BBC, Reuters, Le Monde, France24, and numerous others. Videos documenting her ordeal amassed well over 15m views on YouTube alone, amplifying her impact on a global scale and inspiring citizens from different countries suffering from similar economic disasters to act in the same manner.
In a joint statement from Front Row’s Gianluca Chakra and Empire Entertainment’s Mario Haddad, the producers said: “Sally’s story is as remarkable as it is painful. It is an example of triumph over the demoralising reality that many hard-working citizens find themselves in, after being barraged by instability and corruption. This universal experience begs into question every aspect of how individuals around the world come up against faltering structures and systems. Access via social media meant that many people worldwide connected and interacted with her story immediately, and recognised the struggles she was facing. While Sally’s story is now very much part of the collective imagination, there are aspects of who this young woman is and how she is built that create an intimacy with the courage and audacity it takes to do what only she and few others have done.”
After being approached by many parties in the USA and Europe eager to tell her story, Sally commented: “I’m incredibly excited to work with Front Row Productions to bring my story to life. Our country has gone through so much, and the people in power have taken every opportunity to stamp their authority on a struggling population. It was important to me that my story gets told by people who understand what Lebanon is going through, and that is something I found with the Front Row team.”
For Front Row Productions, this marks a significant step in the company’s attempt to tell a wide array of stories from across the MENA, including under-represented regions such as the Levant.
The company’s first production was the Arabic adaptation of the Italian hit Perfect Strangers, which premiered on Netflix worldwide in January 2022 and topped the charts throughout the MENA, reaching #3 globally. The company is currently in post-production on The Sandcastle, an eerie atmospheric thriller starring Nadine Labaki, and is gearing up to shoot the Jordanian crime-thriller feature film BOOMAH this summer, starring Rakeen Saad and directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan.
