Jeremy Irons & Tobin Bell Lead Cast In Darren Lynn Bousman Horror ‘Cello’; Pic Among Growing Number Of Productions To Film In Saudi Arabia:

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s an interesting one. Production has just wrapped on Cello, an under-the-radar English- and Arabic-language horror movie shot in Saudi Arabia by Saw filmmaker Darren Lynn Bousman.

Oscar winner Jeremy Irons (House of Gucci) and Saw star Tobin Bell lead cast alongside Syrian actor Samer Ismail (The Day I Lost My Shadow) and Saudi actress Elham Ali (Ashman), in the story of an aspiring cellist who learns that the cost of his brand-new cello is a lot more insidious than he first thought. Pic is scripted by Turki Al Alshikh, based on his novel.

The film, shot on location in Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic, heralds from The Ice Road producer Lee Nelson of Envision Media Art. Exec producers include Sultan Al Muheisen and Niko Ruokosuo of Saudi outfit Alamiya and David Tish for Envision Media Arts. The movie was financed by Saudi firm Rozam Media, which also owns all rights to the film.

Al Alshikh is chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia, and is also chairman of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation.

The Haunting of Bly Manor and Shazam! cinematographer Maxime Alexandre was director of photography, and the film is being edited by Harvey Rosenstock (Homeland, Scent of a Woman), with music by composer Joseph Bishara (Insidious, The Conjuring). Raul Talwar serves as associate producer.

Said Bousman about Cello: “I have been blessed to have many adventures in my filmmaking career. None have compared to the production of Cello. I was able to traverse the globe, and work with an international cast and crew. I am excited for the world to see this terrifying tale from the mind of Turki Al Alshikh and am humbled to have had a small part in its creation.”

Saudi Wave
This is the first in a new wave of English-language projects looking to film in Saudi Arabia, which has been ramping up its film and TV ambitions.

Only a handful of sizeable English-language movies have shot in the country in recent decades. The Russo Brothers’ Cherry was the biggest of late back in 2019. But the number of productions is growing as investment increasingly flows in and out of the controversial state, which remains a lightning rod for debate due to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and human rights abuses.

Among productions to shoot in the country recently are a Discovery Channel documentary on the AlUla region narrated by Irons, and an AlUla brand campaign commercial directed by Bruno Aveillan. National Geographic is due to film two programs on the region, and there have been multiple travel programs to film in the area for MBC, SBC and others.

This month, production is due to get underway on the Gerard Butler action-thriller Kandahar from Thunder Road, which will be one of, if not the biggest, English-language movie to shoot in the country.

At the Cannes Film Festival this year, Saudi officials were touting the striking AlUla valley, but also new production facilities and the country’s film and TV tax rebate of 35%. The country is due to host its first major film festival next month, the Red Sea International Film Festival.

‘Cello’ Team
Bousman is best known for his work on the Saw franchise (Saw II, III, IV). He most recently directed Spiral: From The Book of Saw, the ninth installment in the lucrative Lionsgate movie series, starring Chris Rock, Max Minghella and Samuel L. Jackson.

Envision Media Arts’ most recent releases include The Ice Road with Liam Neeson and Girl with Bella Thorne. The company just wrapped post on Lullaby directed by John Leonetti, which they produced with Alcon Entertainment, and are in pre-production on the rom-com Lola and Freddie for Sony.

Alamiya, headquartered in the Saudi capital Riyadh, is one of the best known production companies in the country, but has only recently moved into international film productions.

View this article at Deadline.