Telfaz11, the Saudi Arabian production and finance company, has struck a deal to acquire Riyadh-based producer Last Scene Films.
Founded in 2017 by Mohammed Alhamoud, Last Scene Films has produced the short films Silah and Ertidad, which both travelled to international festivals, while its debut feature Last Visit (2019), directed by Abdulmohsen Aldhabaan, became the first Arab film selected at the East of the West Competition in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and won the Jury Award at the 2019 Marrakech International Film Festival.
Wael Abumansour joined the company as an executive producer in 2020 and has been developing a wide range of genre-focused films including Four Acts of Disruption, which won development funding from the Red Sea International Film Festival.
Alhamoud and Abumansour will now join the fold at Telfaz11, reporting to CEO Alaa Fadan. They will continue to oversee the day-to-day of Last Scene Films’ development and production slate, which will now scale up, as well as running Telfaz11’s film festival strategy.
“It has always been part of our mission to be catalysts to the local creative culture while being at the forefront of producing new and fresh Saudi content with massive local appeal and relevance to local culture,” said Fadan. “With our current strategy to expand and focus our offering in the film and premium content space, we believe that the Last Scene transaction will support us in accelerating our mission and creating long-term value for the company and its shareholders.”
Last Scene Films executive producer Wael Abumansour added, “It’s an ambitious time for Saudi cinema and we’re thrilled to join this exciting journey with Telfaz11 creative team and authentic voice.”
Founder Mohammed Alhamoud added, “Alaa and the Telfaz11 team have built one of the most iconic content brands in this region. I’m thrilled to join the company and look forward to many successful creative endeavors together.”
Telfaz11 previously struck a deal with Netflix to develop and produce a slate of eight films for the service.
