From Variety · Nick Vivarelli · · 1m 20s
A Moroccan crime classic heads to the big screen
Three production companies from three countries are turning a landmark Casablanca detective novel into a feature film.
In brief
Three production companies from three countries are turning a landmark Casablanca detective novel into a feature film. "The Final Bet," the first Arabic detective novel translated into English, is finally getting a movie, backed by a US, Canadian and Moroccan team. Originally reported by Variety.
Three countries, one thriller
Hollywood Ventures Group, Canada's Big Picture Cinema Group and Morocco's Pink Sheep Productions are teaming up on a single feature adaptation.
The book they bought
The source is "The Final Bet," a bestselling Moroccan crime thriller set in Casablanca. It is heading to the big screen for the first time.
“teaming up to bring bestselling Moroccan crime thriller "The Final Bet" to the big screen”
Who wrote it
Abdelilah Hamdouchi, a Moroccan author and award-winning screenwriter, is behind the novel. He knows both the page and the script.
Published in 2001
The novel first came out in 2001, which means the film arrives 25 years after readers first met the story.
A first in translation
It is touted as the first Arabic detective novel ever translated into English, giving the adaptation a claim no other crime film can make.
“the first Arabic detective novel to be translated into English”
Casablanca as the setting
The story plays out in Casablanca, putting a real Moroccan city at the center of a genre usually mapped onto New York or Los Angeles.
The takeaway
"The Final Bet," the first Arabic detective novel translated into English, is finally getting a movie, backed by a US, Canadian and Moroccan team.
