During a press conference held at 32 BIS Gallery, Tunisia, on Friday 5 March, Dhafer L’Abidine announced his directorial debut in the feature-length film titled 'Ghodwa'.

The actor added that he will also produce the film and play the protagonist’s role.

The film’s script is written by Egyptian filmmaker Ahmed Amer.

“Ghodwa follows Ahmed and his estranged sick father, Habib, who are brought together by Habib’s worsening state of health. With a deadline to catch and mounting pressure from unpredictable events, their roles are reversed, a situation neither is prepared for,” reads the film’s brief, which was released by MAD Solutions.

Ghodwa stars Dhafer L’Abidine, as well as Najla Ben Abdallah, Bahri Rahali, Ghanem Zrelli, Rabeb Srairi, and Ahmed Berrhouma.

Born in 1972, L’Abidine, who is based in Egypt, is originally from Tunisia. One of his most iconic roles was the Egyptian Ramadan 2015 TV series Taht El-Saytara (Under Control) alongside Nelly Karim, Hany Adel, Ahmed Wafik and Jihan Fadel. The series tackled the topic of drug addiction.

Prior to Taht El-Saytara, L'Abidine also starred in the Tunisian feature film Akher December (Last December, 2010) and Tunisian TV series Maktoob (Written, 2008).

L'Abidine moved to the UK in 1999 to pursue his acting career, where he won a place at the prestigious Birmingham School of Speech and Drama.

He graduated with a diploma in professional acting studies from Birmingham University in 2002.

Before his sky-rocketing breakthrough in the Arab world, L'Abidine enjoyed a successful career in the West, appearing in international film productions such as Children of Men (2006), Sex and the City 2 (2010), Centurion (2010), Black Forest (2012), Rise of the Footsoldier (2007), and A Hologram for the King (2006).

"L'Abidine has started shooting his scenes for the new TV series Layali Eugenia, which takes place between Cairo and Port Said in 1946," MAD Solutions reveals.

The TV series is set to air in Ramadan 2018, and is written by Ingy El-Kassem and Samaa Abdel Khalek, directed by Hani Khalifa, and produced by Beelink Productions.

Recently, Dhafer starred in Netflix’s French-speaking serial drama The Eddy. 

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture