# 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.
- Title: A Moroccan crime classic heads to the big screen · Variety
- Summary: Three production companies from three countries are turning a landmark Casablanca detective novel into a feature film. "The Final Bet," the first Arabic…
- Keywords: film, morocco, casablanca, thriller, adaptation, entertainment, culture, Moroccan, crime, classic, heads, big
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/markets-festivals/hollywood-ventures-big-picture-cinema-morocco-final-bet-1236859412
- Author: Nick Vivarelli
- Published: 2026-09-13T16:21:39+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: film, morocco, casablanca, thriller, adaptation, entertainment, culture
## 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.
## Key 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.