How Witnessing an Exorcism Led to Nayla Al Khaja’s Debut Feature Film

To grow up in an Arab household is to be well-acquainted with tales of horror, djinns, and dark magic – it’s simply a cultural rite of passage. Yet, perhaps the scariest stories aren’t those intertwined with the fantastical, but rather the ones so firmly grounded in reality that the possibility of their truth leaves you with shivers. These are the stories that inspired Emirati film director Nayla Al Khaja, the UAE’s first independent female filmmaker, when bringing ‘Three’ to the silver screen.

‘Three’, the filmmaker’s feature-length debut, revolves around Maryam, a mother who becomes convinced that her son Ahmed is cursed after he starts displaying disturbing behaviour. After she seeks help from a traditional healer, Ahmed's condition worsens, leading a sceptical British doctor, played by House of the Dragon’s Jefferson Hall, to immerse himself in the boy's cultural world in an effort to save him.

The film, which also stars Faten Ahmed, Saud Alzarooni, and Noura Alabed, delves into the contrasting cultural perceptions surrounding Ahmed's condition, weaving together science, spiritual beliefs, and the unsettling ambiguity that lies somewhere in between—hence the title ‘Three’.

Al Khaja has long had an affinity for horror, having produced and directed multiple shorts in the genre. However, ‘Three’ stands out as a particularly significant project for her, as it draws directly from a personal experience in her youth when she witnessed an exorcism firsthand.

“It was very scary,” Nayla Al Khaja tells #SceneNowUAE, reflecting on the impact of that experience. “It was a family member I adored, and I was afraid of the violence they could exercise. In the end, it didn’t traumatise me as much as it traumatised him.”

‘Three’ eschews special effects and extravagant displays, opting instead for a grounded portrayal of possession that taps into true horror. The film relies on the actors' performances to evoke the unsettling reality of being possessed, avoiding any artificial embellishments – a true representation of Al Khaja’s personal experience.

“The exorcism I witnessed was real, and that is where the horror is,” Al Khaja shares with #SceneNowUAE. “So, in the film, everything is realistic. I don’t have flying plates or levitations or the industry-typical marks of an exorcism.”

Showcased at the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah in late 2023, the feature film was also selected for the 26th edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival, where it was screened in Mandarin. Utilising AI technology, the film was dubbed into Mandarin, using the cast’s voices and altering their facial movements to reflect the dubbed language. This makes ‘Three’ the first movie to utilise this cutting-edge technology.