Indonesian feature sets up rare shoot in holy city of Mecca

Indonesia's Visual Media Studio is set to shoot the religious drama Assalamualaikum Baitullah on location in Mecca.

It will mark only the second Indonesian feature to shoot in the holy city and filming is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2025. Saudi Arabia’s Tafrah Production handles the local shoot, which will account for about 20% of the film.

Directed by Hadrah Daeng Ratu, the story follows a heartbroken woman who is saved from a suicide attempt by a mysterious man and rediscovers hope and strength when they meet again in the holy land.

The cast is led by Tissa Biani from KKN Di Desa Penari, Indonesia’s biggest ever local box office hit that recorded more than 10 million admissions in 2022; Michelle Ziudith from Ipar Adalah Maut, which generated 4.8 million admissions earlier this year; and Arbani Yasiz.

It marks the second film to be produced by Visual Media Studio after the box office success of its debut feature The Corpse Washer, which was released in Indonesia and Malaysia in February and became the second highest grossing Indonesian film to date in Malaysia.

Director Hadrah has made several box office hits including religious drama 172 Days, horror films The Corpse Washer and Sijjin, and Vidio original series Amara’s First Love, which was named series of the year at this year’s Jakarta Film Week.

Visual Media Studio is building a slate that includes horror The Grave Watcher, which is in script development as a follow up to The Corpse Washer.

“With The Corpse Washer and now The Grave Watcher, we are building a universe about professionals who deal with death,” producer Tony Ramesh told Screen.

This story originally appeared on KFTV's sister site Screen

• Sky thriller 'Inheritance' set to film in UK, Jamaica this month