With his first feature film, Ali Kalthami tells a contemporary Riyadh story but from an unlikely, even fringe perspective.
Mandoob shows an aspect of the Saudi capital that lies in the shadow of the glitz and opulence. It revolves around Fahad, a courier who, through a strange turn of events, steals illegal goods from local bootleggers to pay for his father’s medical bills. Unsurprisingly, the act pits him and his family in the crosshairs of a crime syndicate, propelling the film into tense, dark and at times comedic territories.
The film, which is currently screening in UAE cinemas, treads along a fresh frontier in the Saudi filmmaking effort, specifically in its exploration of unpublicised experiences.
A pivotal scene within Mandoob is when Fahad delivers food to a penthouse apartment in Riyadh and has a glimpse of how the upper echelon lives. It presents the moment when the film’s absurdities begin to unravel and Fahad takes on a path that leads him to Riyadh’s underbelly. Besides its integral position within the plot, the scene also holds the key to how the film’s storyline came about.
“There was a moment in Riyadh, where I was in a gathering and this gathering had famous people, some well-known faces, and a [courier] knocks on the door,” Kalthami says. “He was delivering food, and he started staring at the people at the event. He was shocked. I was just watching him and feeling for him. He reminded me of myself.”
Kalthami himself has been on both sides of the proverbial threshold. Having held his share of odd jobs, the co-founder of the influential Saudi production company Telfaz11 says he knows what it feels like to “not be noticed".
The memory of the get-together, juxtaposed by the courier’s apparent awe, perfectly encapsulated for Kalthami the breadth of experiences that populate Riyadh. To him, the moment was symbolic of contemporary Saudi, and it was the present that he wanted to explore in his debut feature.
“I met with my co-writer [Mohammed Algarawi] and said this story could be good,” Kalthami says. “It is about now. It needs to be about Saudi now. I don’t want to go into the past. I don’t want to delve into something in the future as well. Saudi now is so important to talk about.”
Having written and directed several shorts, Kalthami says he wanted to stay focused with his debut feature-length work. It was integral that no matter where the story strayed, it remained sharply concerned with its protagonist, with all his quirks and challenges.
“Mandoob is about this guy who is a loner,” Kalthami says. “Who is struggling with himself around change, and he's not equipped to deal with change. He’s challenged with the environment. He’s a disturbed man, but I can sympathise with him a lot.”
Kalthami says he and Algargawi went through as many as a dozen drafts until they felt ready to translate the script to film. When it came to finding the right person to embody Fahad on screen, the duo was cautious and took their time to decide on an actor. “We tried not to think of somebody so it wouldn’t affect the writing,” Kalthami says. “But by the third draft, it started calling for Mohamad Aldokhei.”
Aldokhei is a recognisable figure in Saudi entertainment. The actor, known for his roles in the Netflix originals AlKhallat+ and Six Windows in the Desert, not to mention his plethora of Telfaz11-produced comedy shorts, is renowned for his comedic flair, but Kalthami says he knew Aldokhei had more to offer.
“I’ve known him for 20 years. I've worked with him so much,” Kalthami says. “He's a comedian. He's so funny. He's appeared in so many humorous [roles]. But it was the time to actually play a different note with him, and I thought we can deliver something special, something different [with Mandoob].”
Aldokhei’s background in comedy translates well in Mandoob, particularly with the way the actor injects a healthy dose of levity to otherwise tense situations. His performance adds a dimension to the film that prevents it from becoming a monotonous drop towards chaos.
“There are comedians who can pull off drama in an amazing way. There’s darkness in comedy,” Kalthami says, adding that Aldokhei gracefully treads that line. “He was ready,” Kalthami says. “He wanted to do something else. He didn’t want to be boxed into these roles of comedy and entertainment. It was a great collaboration. He saves the film in some moments, like he would go dark and intense, but then he’d say something funny or do something quirky.”
An ultimate litmus test for Mandoob came during its Arab premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival. Though the film had previously screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Kalthami says he was most eager to see how audiences at home would react to it.
“I thought Toronto was tough, but bringing it home, I was relaxed until five minutes before the show,” Kalthami says.
“My film is tense. It has very heavy subject matters. After the first five or 10 minutes, I became at ease. People were laughing, enjoying it and clapping. I saw that I was in my head too much and that it was time to relax. I wanted actually to show it first in Saudi, because I made this film for the local audience.
"But Toronto showed interest in this film and I thought why not. Now’s the time for it to come home and I’m excited to share this story. I think it's a different tone to cinema, but it's an important one. It's necessary to shed the light on these unfortunate characters in our societies.”
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
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The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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%3Cp%3EMeghan%20Markle%2C%20the%20wife%20of%20Prince%20Harry%2C%20launched%20her%20long-awaited%20podcast%20Tuesday%2C%20with%20tennis%20megastar%20Serena%20Williams%20as%20the%20first%20guest.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Duchess%20of%20Sussex%20said%20the%2012-part%20series%2C%20called%20%22Archetypes%2C%22%20--%20a%20play%20on%20the%20name%20of%20the%20couple's%20oldest%20child%2C%20Archie%20--%20would%20explore%20the%20female%20experience.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELast%20year%20the%20couple%20told%20Oprah%20Winfrey%20that%20life%20inside%20%22The%20Firm%22%20had%20been%20miserable%2C%20and%20that%20they%20had%20experienced%20racism.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20don't%20ever%20remember%20personally%20feeling%20the%20negative%20connotation%20behind%20the%20word%20ambitious%2C%20until%20I%20started%20dating%20my%20now-husband%2C%22%20she%20told%20the%20tennis%20champion.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The five pillars of Islam
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte
Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Champions League last 16, first leg
Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
