Dhafer L'Abidine will be starring in the upcoming American film South of Hope Street, directed by American director Jane Spencer. 

L’Abidine was cast alongside Hollywood star Michael Madsen and Canadian actress Katie Boland.

The film, set for release in 2017, is shot in Norway and the Dolomites, and is a sci-fi romantic plot set in the future where a mysterious occurrence in the sky, as two new planets appear next to the moon, is only noticed by a few people (Madsen, L’Abidine and Boland).

Spencer is a Zurich-based director who is known for her Sundance-selected drama Little Noises and The Ninth Cloud.

L’Abidine, who is based in Egypt, is originally from Tunisia. One of his most iconic roles was in the Egyptian Ramadan 2015 TV series Taht El-Saytara 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 (2010) and Tunisian TV series Maktoob (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, Dhafer 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 (UK) and the upcoming film A Hologram for the King, directed by Tom Twyker and starring Tom Hanks where he is a real estate consultant to Tom Hank’s character.

South of Hope Street is the second Arab/European co-production by Cairo-based distributor MAD Solutions, which will be handling the film’s theatrical distribution in the Arab world.