Champions | |
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Directed by | Manuel Calvo |
Written by | Manuel Calvo |
Produced by |
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Starring | Yassir Al Saggaf Fatima Al Banawi |
Cinematography | Josep M. Civit |
Edited by | Pablo Blanco |
Music by | Amer Tashkandi |
Production companies |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Countries | Saudi Arabia |
Language | Arabic |
Champions ( Arabic: أبطال) is a 2021 Saudi Arabian-Spanish sports comedy film written and directed by Manuel Calvo. [1] It is an Arabic-language remake of the 2018 Spanish film of the same name. [2] Starring Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi. [3]
After losing a match, Khaled is summoned to a disciplinary court. The sentence comes down and Khaled is forced into unexpected community service: banished from his prestigious job, he must now train a team of amateur players with disabilities. A task he despises, before opening his eyes to these players who are often discriminated against because of their disability. [4]
Principal photography started at the end of February 2020 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with plans to shoot for 7 weeks there and then in Dubai, [5] [6] but could not finish filming due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. [7] The last scenes had to be filmed a year later, at the expense of the lifting of restrictions in the country. [7]
It had its world premiere on December 10, 2021, at the Red Sea International Film Festival. [8] It was released commercially on March 10, 2022, in Saudi Arabian theaters. [9] [10]