UAE film 'Zamjara' premieres at Santa Monica Film Festival 2025 (2025)

After a ten-year hiatus from directing, Emirati filmmaker Alwiya Thani is making a comeback with Zamjara, a short, dark comedy that puts a unique and unexpectedly comic spin on the experience of a cancer-diagnosed patient. The UAE-made film premiered at the Santa Monica Film Festival, in the US, this month.

When Alwiya was presented with several short film scripts by old acquaintances from the industry, Zamjara was the one that struck her the most — so much so that she decided to finance the production herself.

The film offers comic relief during some of the most difficult moments cancer patients must endure. One such scene shows the protagonist, Hamad, shaving his own head before starting chemotherapy, only for the shaving machine to run out of charge halfway through his hairline.

It was the film’s dark, indirect comedy, unexpected ending, and human-interest story that could “happen to any of us” that convinced Alwiya to return to the director’s chair after a decade. Despite feeling overwhelmed at the beginning — admitting she even yelled “action” and “cut” louder than she should — she saw Zamjara as the right opportunity to test her skills and apply the sophisticated directing techniques she had accumulated over the years.

“I connected with the story immediately,” said Alwiya. “I could empathise with the concept of Zamjara. This can happen to any of us. It’s universal and it is terrifying, forcing anyone dealing with it to confront the unthinkable in the blink of an eye.”

The film follows Hamad, a rising radio presenter about to tie the knot when a routine medical check-up reveals he has an incurable brain tumour. Faced with his own mortality, Hamad is forced to reevaluate his life choices and find peace in the time he has left.

In the lead role of Hamad is Emirati actor Khalifa Al Bahri, known for his powerful performances in theatre, film, and television. Born in Abu Dhabi in 1992, Al Bahri began acting as a child in school plays and later built a career in professional theatre before transitioning to film and TV.

Al Bahri committed fully to this role, including shaving his head on camera. “We had one chance to get it right, and we had to end the shaving action precisely at the middle point of his head,” said Alwiya. The challenge was even greater as he was due to appear in another production where he wasn’t supposed to be bald.

“I had my colleague Yasir Alyasiri on board, so there was extra logistical support from someone who empathised with being in the position of director/producer on a labour of love,” said Alwiya.

The movie maker, who developed a passion for directing at a young age, made a career switch from banking to filmmaking over a decade ago. After completing a degree in Business Administration, she left the corporate world to study digital filmmaking. “I had to turn my back on a career in banking to follow my passion for filmmaking,” she said.

Although she worked on major film and television productions, including From A to B, Qalb Al Adala, and Al Kameen, Alwiya’s directing ambitions had been on hold while she focused on production roles. “Ten years after the first, I present my next short film,” said the 42-year-old.

With no external funding, she decided to produce Zamjara independently, investing her savings in the project. “I decided to finance the project myself. I had some savings and saved for the rest,” said Alwiya. “I was hoping that the talented crew and cast that I had worked with over the years would step up to help with the project and they did.”

The crew, mostly old colleagues, embraced the project with commitment and understanding. “Everyone understood what I was doing, why, and that I was funding this passion project,” she said. “I’m grateful and blessed that they also approached it with such generosity, commitment, and understanding of frugality.”

Another challenge was building the psychiatrist’s office set from scratch. “I had a very clear vision of how I wanted it to look,” said Alwiya. With no suitable location available, she and her team managed to build the set in 24 hours while filming other scenes. “We started shopping for décor and props and had the set ready, with paint still drying, in time to shoot on schedule.”

One of the lighter moments on set came when Alwiya struggled to get the right sound out of Khalifa Albahri for the film title reference. “Zamjara is the sound of a lion’s cry in Arabic. We wanted that feeling of raw emotion and power. In one scene, we needed Khalifa to express that, but it wasn’t coming.

“We tried everything, and it just wasn’t right. So, I pinched his stomach until he had to vomit, and we got the sound!” she added, laughing at the memory.

Shot over four days at five locations, with a 24-person crew, Zamjara reflects Alwiya’s extensive experience in production and her ability to stretch a limited budget. “My creative ambition for Zamjara was of course limited to my savings account but my time in production provided the way to stretch that to the maximum artistically,” she said.

The short film was selected to screen at the Santa Monica Film Festival for its world premiere this month. Alwiya views the selection as a milestone for both herself and her team. “We shot it with love. It was a labour of passion, and seeing it on an international platform is just the beginning.”

For Alwiya, patience remains one of the greatest lessons she has learned over the years. “Patience is the best thing I’ve learned. That and having a personal relationship with my actors. It makes a huge difference,” she concluded.

Zamjara’s screenplay was written by Ahmed Al Arshi, an award-winning Emirati author and filmmaker with a Master’s in film production from Ryerson University. A WGA member with experience at HBO, his recent work includes the limited seriesKaboos(2023).

The film was co-produced by Yasir Alyasiri, an acclaimed Iraqi filmmaker known for award-winning music videos, TV series, and films. His notable works includeMurk Light(2012),Shabab Sheyab(2018), and the 4DX Egyptian box-office hit122(2019).

Alwiya is the production and casting manager at Image Nation; her productions there includedAl Kameen and on Al Eid Eiden.