| Born a King | |
| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Agustí Villaronga |
| Producer: | Andrés Vicente Gómez Marco Gómez Stuart Sutherland Todd Albert Nims |
| Starring: | Ed Skrein Hermione Corfield Abdullah Ali Laurence Fox |
| Music: | Hesham Nazih |
| Cinematography: | Josep M. Civit |
| Production Companies: | Celtic Films Arena Audiovisual |
| Distributor: | Vox Film Distribution |
| Budget: | $21 million |
Born a King (Arabic: وُلِدَ مَلِكاً|Wulida Malikᵃⁿ) is a 2019 historical coming-of-age drama film directed by Agustí Villaronga. The film stars Abdullah Ali, Ed Skrein, Hermione Corfield, Laurence Fox, and James Fleet.
In 1919, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, 14-year-old Faisal is sent by his father, Emir Abdulaziz, on a high-stakes diplomatic mission to London to secure the formation of what was to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Young Faisal negotiates his country's and his family's future with seasoned politicians like Winston Churchill and Lord Curzon, and forms a friendship with Princess Mary.[1]
It wrapped filming in late 2017.[2] [3] The production of the movie lasted nearly for four years.[4] Filming locations include London, Riyadh and Diriyah.[5] The film is Saudi actor Abdullah Ali's cinematic debut.[3]
It premiered at the Barcelona Sant Jordi International Film Festival (BCN FILM FEST) on 25 April 2019.[6] On 26 September 2019 the movie was released in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and earned a first-four-day $972,962.[4]
Born a King is the recipient of the 2019 best film award from the Inward Eye Film Festival for independent cinema.[7]