Filming is about to start on a comedy-horror saga, Dead Sands, inspired by the films of the 80s and 90s in which zombies take over Bahrain.

The details of the project were announced yesterday during a press conference at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), in Adliya, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"The film follows a group of unique individuals who come together by chance in the wake of a zombie apocalypse in Bahrain," said writer and associate producer Ahmed Al Zayani. "It's a horror-comedy movie, inspired by the horror films of the 80s and 90s.

"One of the unique things about the movie is that we're trying to incorporate as much local talent as possible, from sketches to cast and crew."

The aim is to get the film in the cinemas towards the end of summer. "We want to include in the film as much Bahraini landscape and culture as possible," added Al Zayani.

"We'll be filming hopefully at Bab Al Bahrain and other places. We're very excited to have a genuinely Bahrain-inspired horror film."

The plan is to enter the feature-length film in movie festivals abroad. "We definitely want to submit it for film festivals in the Middle East," said Al Zayani.

"We're also looking at a couple of festivals in the US. We just want to put it out there."

The project is being supported by the Ahmed Zayani and Sons car dealership, which is supplying cars for the film. "We're proud and honoured to be associated with NYIT for this project Dead Sands," said sales and marketing manager Godwin D'Cruz.

"We're happy to be associated with young Bahraini talent and we're there to support them through their endeavours.

"We're lending them cars for the movie, which I'm sure the actors will enjoy using. We're sure it's going to be a big success and we aim to showcase the movie in Dubai."

Dead Sands is the fourth film produced, directed and filmed by FANtasy, a group of NYIT students and faculty members. The movie details are being unveiled at www.youtube.com/DeadSandsFilms and also @DeadSandsFilm on Twitter and Instagram.

The film is also supported by Bahrain Cinema Company (Cineco).-TradeArabia News Service