Art & Culture

From Zahra to Hayat, Sarah Taibah Returns With Two New Screen Performances

BYMeriem Belhiba

December 8, 2025

Saudi actor, writer, and filmmaker Sarah Taibah is ending 2025 with two new feature films that reach audiences at the same time. The psychological horror film HOBA is now screening across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region, while A Matter of Life and Death will have its world premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah on Dec. 8.

The 36-year-old is part of a new wave of Saudi creators who work across acting, writing, and visual art. She created and starred in the dark comedy series Jameel Jeddan and appeared in films such as Roll’em and Mandoob Al Layl. She contributed to the screenplay of the fantasy film Hwjn and took part in the anthology series Nemra Etnen. A graduate of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, her work often explores humor, vulnerability, and the complexity of everyday Saudi life.

Speaking to MILLE, Taibah described this moment as both exciting and overwhelming. “I am definitely grateful, excited, and overwhelmed. I have always been an extremist. I hide for a year to write, recharge and mostly hibernate. Then I come back the following year with everything I have been cooking,” she said.

Her first release of the season, HOBA, marks her return to cinema through the character of Zahra. Directed by Majid Al Ansari, the film follows a family whose stability begins to erode when the husband brings home a second wife. Taibah said she was drawn to the role because it allowed her to break away from familiar character types.

“I took it as a challenge to show range. It is easy to get stuck in the same type of role. I did Zahra to break free and to play. The character is complicated and fun, and I trust Majid as a director,” she said.

Zahra also pushed her into a different type of performance. “She is not a typical human. She is a wicked diva who feels a bit supernatural. I could not say no,” she added.

Her second project, A Matter of Life and Death, places her in a dual role as actor and screenwriter. The film follows Hayat, a young woman convinced she will die on her thirtieth birthday, and uses dark comedy to explore fear, superstition and the desire for control. Much of the story takes place in Jeddah.

“It was a beautiful journey writing the film and Hayat specifically,” she said. “There is a trait that shapes Hayat. Her obsessiveness and her constant need to control her life. OCD is something I struggle with and I love writing about what I know. Dark comedy lets me show serious things and turn them into something relatable and emotional.”

The film will premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival on Dec. 8.

Asked how she views the overlap of both releases, Taibah said she prefers to keep the moment simple. “I like to think of it as a good moment. Just a good moment. I do not want to put too much emphasis on it because I easily freak out,” she said.

Her projects this season show a shift toward a wider range of stories in Saudi cinema. HOBA leans into psychological tension and the supernatural, while A Matter of Life and Death brings forward a local story written from personal experience. Together they reflect Taibah’s growing presence as an actor and writer who contributes to the ongoing expansion of the Saudi film landscape.

From Zahra to Hayat, Sarah Taibah Returns With Two New Screen Performances

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From Zahra to Hayat, Sarah Taibah Returns With Two New Screen Performances

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