Cool kids make films.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Since 2015
Netflix · Shahid · Cinemas

A Jeddah film studio making Saudi features, shows and commercials. Written, directed and shot by us.

See the work

Omar Ashmouni and Ghani Saig laughing on set

About Hekaya

Hekaya Studios is a Saudi film production company founded in 2015 by Omar Ashmouni and Ghani Saig. From Jeddah, we make high-quality, locally rooted films and series about contemporary Saudi life and the stories from this region that haven't been told yet.

Psychological thrillers, supernatural drama, sci-fi and culturally grounded comedy. Local flavour, cinematic ambition, bold storytelling.

FilmsEmbedded in culture.

The work, so far

Features, a show, docu-series and the shorts where it started. Point at a title to see it.

01Yesterday After TomorrowFeature film2024
02Minor SinsFeature filmComing soon
03RabshaFeature film2026
04The StudioOnline showSeason 1
05Al-Balad RisingDocu-series2024–
06Heart of a WarriorDocumentary2022
07The Saudi ReportersMusic videosEvery year
08StrangersWeb series2017
09MatchstickShort film2022
1012Short film2020
11PeachShort film2020

2024 // 113 mins // Sci-fi

Yesterday After Tomorrow

Synopsis:

Two brothers who live with their widowed mother find an old door that opens onto the past, to a time when their father was still alive. The longer they stay to reach the father they never met, the more they belong to that timeline. Now they must find a way back to their mother.

Available on Netflix

DirectedGhani Saig

WrittenOmar Ashmouni

Starring

Ismael Al-Hassan · Ahmed Saddam · Naif Aldaferi · Lana Komsany · Summer Shesha · Abdulaziz Barnawi

Red Sea IFFWorld premiere, 3rd Red Sea International Film Festival, 2023.
In cinemasReleased across Saudi Arabia, January 2024.
NetflixAcquired by Netflix, streaming worldwide.
CopenhagenNordic premiere with Malmö Arab Film Festival, 2024.

Coming soon // 105 mins // Buddy comedy

Minor Sins

Synopsis:

Murad, a small-time con artist posing as a righteous sheikh, meets Juhaylaman, a failed demon desperate to impress his father, the ruthless General Manager of WSWSCO, a corporate empire of jinn. Juhaylaman offers him riches, fame and the love of his life back, in exchange for just a few minor sins.

DirectedGhani Saig

WrittenOmar Ashmouni

CinematographyMohannad Al-Aswad

Starring

Naif Aldaferi · Mohammed El-Farra · Sarah Taibah · Ismael Al-Hassan

Jinn, Inc.Temptation run like a company, with departments, KPIs and office politics.
TheatricalOur second feature as a writer and director duo, made for cinemas.
JeddahThe city as we know it, with an unseen layer of jinn whispering underneath.

2026 // 75 mins // Thriller

Rabsha

Synopsis:

A quiet anniversary turns into a night of tension and revelation when an unexpected guest arrives, exposing hidden lies and testing the limits of love and trust.

Directed and writtenMohammed Makki

Produced withHekaya Studios

Starring

Aziz Gharbawi · Najlaa Al-Abdullah · Rahaf Ibrahim · Amani AlJameel · Saleh Bin Zaben

In cinemasReleased in Saudi cinemas, 9 April 2026.
New voicesBacking a new Saudi writer-director on the big screen.

The Studio

The showSeason 1

Our own show, made by the studio, about the studio. Season one is out now, with a new episode every week on Instagram.

Watch on Instagram

The Studio season 1 poster: the hosts look up from inside a car with fuzzy dice and a splash of red

The Studio season 1 poster: the hosts look down at the camera with a fire extinguisher and an ARRI camera against the sky

Watched online

Views across our online shows, docu-series and music videos.

100M⁺

2024 – ongoing // 2 seasons // Docu-drama

Al-Balad Rising

Three years inside Al-Balad FC, Saudi Arabia's newest club, as it fights its way up from the fourth division toward the Saudi Pro League. Dressing rooms, coaches, players and their families. Raw emotion and relentless ambition, on and off the pitch.

DirectedGhani Saig ProducedOmar Ashmouni

Watch on

Action

And many moreprojects.

Before the features came the shorts, the web series and the documentaries. Some of them are why people know our names.

Heart of a Warrior poster — **Heart of a Warrior**2022 documentary. The Saudi Reporters and Abdullah's fight with heart failure.

Music video still in purple light — **The Saudi Reporters**Music videos, directed by Ghani every year at cinema level.

Strangers poster — **Strangers**2017 web series. Saudis from different cities, tangled together in the US.

Matchstick poster — **Matchstick**2022 short. A young man at war with his own memory.

12 poster — 122020 short. A taxi driver with dementia picks up the wrong hitchhiker.

Peach poster — **Peach**2020 short. A captive mother fights for her unborn child's freedom.

Coming next

Original films in development at Hekaya, written by Omar Ashmouni and directed by Ghani Saig.

Branded shows

Series we made for brands, from the idea to the final episode.

BenefitGoogleMDLBEASTKFC

Commercials

National campaigns for the Saudi Ministry of Culture. TVCs for BMW, Audi, Amazon, Google, Nissan and DHL. A 30-second spot gets the care of a premiere.

Brands we've made work for

Music videos

Performance, timing and a mood you can feel. The Saudi Reporters come back every year for Ghani to direct at cinema level.

Hekaya dreams it.

Galactic
builds it.

Our production house
Cameras · Lenses · Lights
Owned, not rented

An ARRI Alexa Mini LF cinema camera with a 20mm prime lens — ARRI Alexa Mini LF

Most creative houses write the idea and hand it to someone else to make. We don't. Galactic Productions is our own production house, with its own cameras, lenses and lights, so the people who pitch your idea are the people on set and in the edit.

Story

Ideas, scripts and creative direction, developed at Hekaya.

Shoot

Galactic runs the production with equipment we own.

Screen

The team that pitched it delivers it, start to finish.

The writer / director duo

Two friends from Jeddah who started Hekaya in 2015 to make the films they wanted to watch as kids. Imaginative stories that speak our language, live in our cities and stand the test of time.

Ghani Saig

Co-founder // Director

Ghani is a Saudi film and commercial director with a background in CGI, VFX, animation and AI. His debut feature, Yesterday After Tomorrow, premiered at the Red Sea International Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix.

He has directed national campaigns for the Saudi Ministry of Culture, commercials for BMW, Amazon and Google, and documentaries and music videos that have passed 100 million views. A former Executive Creative Director, he speaks the agency's language and protects the idea all the way to the screen.

“A film about family reconnecting through time and space. A film written to be loved by everyone.”Ghani, on Yesterday After Tomorrow

Omar Ashmouni

Co-founder // Producer // Screenwriter

Omar is a screenwriter and producer from Jeddah with a degree in Animation and Digital Media. He wrote Yesterday After Tomorrow and Minor Sins, produces Al-Balad Rising, and has produced commercials for brands like Audi and Amazon.

His work plays on Netflix, Shahid and SBC. When he isn't on set, he's buried in the next script.