Haifaa Al Mansour’s Thriller UNIDENTIFIED Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics

Sony Pictures Classics has announced that they have acquired all rights to UNIDENTIFIED in North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, and worldwide airlines. Directed by Haifaa Al Mansour (WADJDA, THE PERFECT CANDIDATE) and written and produced by Al Mansour and Brad Niemann (THE PERFECT CANDIDATE), the contemporary Saudi-language thriller is currently in post-production.

The film, which stars Mila Al Zahrani (THE PERFECT CANDIDATE, THE CELLO) and Shafi Al Harthi (A WOMAN'S LIFE), is an Al Mansour Establishment production, in association with Rotana Studios with the support of the Daw Program, through the Film Commission, KSA.

In UNIDENTIFIED, the drama is sparked by the discovery of the lifeless body of a teenage girl in the desert. When no one claims the body, Noelle Al Saffan, a newly divorced, true crime aficionado who recently lost a child of her own, gets obsessively involved. Despite a ticking clock that seemingly guarantees the girl’s senseless death will be discarded as a cold case, Noelle is determined to identify the body and uncover the truth. She slowly unravels a mystery entangled within a traditional society in transition, where women are learning to create more space for themselves and to take control of their own destinies.

"I am so excited to reteam with Sony Pictures Classics for the release of my latest film UNIDENTIFIED. SPC championed my very first film WADJDA, about a young girl who wanted to ride a forbidden bicycle, before cinema was even legal in the Kingdom. I couldn't be happier to be working with them again to tell another female-driven story at an equally exciting time of fundamental change in Saudi Arabia,” said Al Mansour.

“With WADJDA, Haifaa Al Mansour became one of the world’s most exciting filmmakers. We are thrilled to be releasing her newest film, the mystery-thriller UNIDENTIFIED, which is exactly the type of compelling movie that’s thriving in the theatrical marketplace right now. It promises to be a major SPC success at the end of the year,” added Sony Pictures Classics.

This acquisition reunites Sony Pictures Classics with Al Mansour following the success of her feature directorial debut WADJDA, which was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first feature-length film made by a Saudi Arabian woman. The film was selected as the Saudi Arabian entry for “Best Foreign Language Film” at the 86th Academy Awards®, marking the country’s first-ever Oscars submission, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award®.

The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics, with UTA Independent Film Group and Memento International representing the filmmakers.

Photo Credit: Haifaa Al Mansour