The film is produced by Front Row Productions with Ahmad Abu Koush and director Zaid Abu Hamdan’s Jordan-based Bounce Productions.
Principal photography has commenced on Boomah (The Owl), an Arab underworld thriller written and directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan. This project marks Abu Hamdan’s second feature film, following his critically acclaimed Daughters of Abdul Rahman.
Rakeen Saad, announced in December, will portray the lead role of the female thug Boomah. Saad is renowned for her roles in The Giza Killer and Netflix’s Al Rawabi School for Girls. She is set to appear in the upcoming Netflix series Echoes of the Past and Terrence Malick’s biblical drama The Way of the Wind.
Boomah reunites Saad with her Al Rawabi School for Girls co-star Joanna Arida, who will play Boomah’s best friend and confidant, Anoud. Arida will also be seen in the Dutch TV series Laura H. The cast includes Majd Eid, Nabil Al Raee and Hanan Al Hilo, the latter reuniting with Abu Hamdan from Daughters of Abdul Rahman.
Boomah is described as an expansive crime thriller set against the backdrop of Jordan’s underworld. Protagonist Boomah is a notorious and knife-savvy female gang member who becomes embroiled in a power struggle between street thugs and religious extremists while battling the traumas of her harrowing orphaned past. The production aims to capture the epic scale of this underworld of violence juxtaposed against gender struggles and street gang hierarchies.
The film is produced by Front Row Productions and Bounce Productions, with Ahmad Abu Koush and Zaid Abu Hamdan at the helm. Bayt Al Shawareb, known for their work on the Oscar-nominated “Theeb” and the Cannes-selected Inshallah a Boy, is also involved.
Renowned editor Dina Farouk, who worked on Chaos Disorder, Moga Harra and Banat Wist El Balad, will collaborate with Abu Hamdan again. Samir Seif’s “His Excellency The Minister” joins as editor, and Samer Al Nimri, known for Our Males and Females, is the Director of Photography.
In a joint statement, Producers Gianluca Chakra and Mario Jr. Haddad said: “We’re proud to be a part of this project, supporting Jordanian and Levantine talent during this extremely difficult and trying period, with so much risk inherent in cinema and arts coming out of this region. Zaid is an outstanding young and ambitious director with a very bright future ahead, a true visionary and difference-maker. His understanding of the nuances of Jordanian street culture is exceptional. We are concentrating on a script and storytelling that transcends borders and nationality while looking to break the limits of background and identity to bring ‘Boomah‘ to a wide Arab audience and beyond. We see Boomah positioned as a film with Arab and international appeal, as a crime thriller reminiscent of great underworld juggernaut works like City of God, Gomorrah, La Haine and others.”
The production team includes Producer Sari Saad Silawi, line producer Dalia Al Nimr, and production designer Rand Abdel Noor. Noor’s previous work includes The Alleys, John Wick: Chapter 4, Dune and “Moon Knight.”
Co-producers for the film are Maia Malas, Carine Chaiban, Elie Touma, Nicolas Torloting, Sari Silawi and Dalia Al-Nimr.