The November selection features Cotton Queen, Once Upon A Time in Gaza, Khartoum & more!

Join us at Hayy Cinema this November for a transformative cinematic journey featuring compelling narratives from across the region and beyond.

This month’s lineup opens with a dedicated Sudan Spotlight, bringing together deeply moving perspectives on collective memory and resilience through Cotton Queen (2026) and Khartoum (2025). The feature selection also highlights an exclusive Saudi release of Once Upon a Time in Gaza (2025), winner of the Un Certain Regard award at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.

The monthly Rendezvous with French Cinema club presents Suprêmes (2021), an energetic portrait following the rise of the iconic French hip-hop group NTM and capturing the raw pulse of 1990s Paris.

Stay tuned to the Hayy Cinema social media channels for the full screening schedule, film details, and ticketing updates.

See you at the cinema!

Book your tickets in person via the on-site ticketing booth

New Releases: Sudan Spotlight – Exclusive KSA Premieres

Director Suzanna Mirghani blends an energetic coming-of-age narrative with the enduring imprint of colonial history, marking her debut as the first Sudanese woman to direct a feature film that has premiered in the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.

Cotton Queen (2025)

In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, teenager Nafisa is raised on heroic tales of battling British colonisers told by her grandmother, the village matriarch Al-Sit. But when a young businessman arrives from abroad with a new development plan and genetically engineered cotton, Nafisa becomes the center of a power play to determine the future of the village. Awakening to her own strength, Nafisa sets out to save the cotton fields – and herself. Neither she nor her community will ever be the same again.

Screening dates: November 5, 6, 12, 15, 18, 21, 25, 27, 28 & December 2, 4, 5, 2026
Directed by: Suzannah Mirghani Genre: Drama
Duration: 1h34m Country of Production: Sudan, Germany, France, Palestine, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
Language: Arabic Subtitles: English Age Classification: R15
Trailer

From the heart of Khartoum, this documentary creatively weaves together the stories of five Sudanese citizens: a civil servant, a tea vendor, a resistance committee volunteer, and two street boys, all united by one common search: freedom.

Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and the 75th Berlinale.

Khartoum (2025)

Five lives, one city, a nation at war.  A civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer and two street boys. Five stories from Sudan weave together in search of freedom through animated dreams, street revolutions and a war from the metropolis of Khartoum to escape in East Africa.

Screening dates: November 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 & December 3, 4, 5
Directed by: Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M.Ahmed, Yousef Jubeh, Phil Cox Genre: Documentary
Duration: 1h20m Country of Production: Sudan, Germany, Qatar, United Kingdom
Language: Arabic Subtitles: English Age Classification: R15
Trailer

New Releases: Exclusive KSA Premieres

The Palestinian dark comedy-drama Once Upon a Time in Gaza, directed by twin brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, won the Best Director Award in the Un Certain Regard section at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.

Once Upon A Time in Gaza (2025)

Gaza, 2007. Yahya, a young student, forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they start peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego.

Screening dates: November 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26, 29 & December 3, 4, 5
Directed by: Tarzan Nasser & Arab Nasser Genre: Drama
Duration: 1h30m Country of Production: Palestine, France, Germany, Portugal
Language: Arabic Subtitles: English Age Classification: R18
Trailer

Rendezvous With French Cinema

Join us this November with the goal of practicing, listening, and strengthening French language skills with monthly screenings at Hayy Cinema.

Premiered at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, Suprêmes tells the origin story of the iconic French rap group Suprême NTM (JoeyStarr and Kool Shen) in the suburbs of Paris in the early 1990s.

Suprêmes (2021)

France, early nineties. As the violence escalates between police and youth in the city projects, hip hop culture spreads as the best means to express revolt. Two boys, JoeyStarr and Kool Shen, become the voice of a generation and the biggest French rap group ever: Suprême NTM.

Screening dates: November 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, 22, 29 & December 6
Directed by: Audrey Estrougo Genre: Drama, Biopic, Music
Duration: 1h42m Country of Production: France
Language: French Subtitles: English
Trailer