Black Gold
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.
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Cast
16 people
Mark Strong
Sultan Amar
Known for
Shazam!
1917
Antonio Banderas
Emir Nesib
Known for
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Skin I Live In
Freida Pinto
Leyla
Known for
Slumdog Millionaire
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Tahar Rahim
Auda
Known for
A Prophet
The Mauritanian
Riz Ahmed
Ali
Known for
Venom
Nightcrawler
Lotfi Dziri
Sheikh of Bani Sirri
Known for
The String
Liya Kebede
Aicha
Known for
Desert Flower
The Best Offer
Corey Johnson
Thurkettle
Known for
The Day of the Jackal
Ex Machina
Akin Gazi
Saleh
Known for
Da Vinci's Demons
Knightfall
Ériq Ebouaney
Hassan Dakhil
Known for
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
Transporter 3
Ramzy Lehner
Also in
The Seven Commandments
Lahfa
Taoufik Ayeb
Sergeant Talib
Also in
Chwereb
Lylet Shak
Jean-Jacques Annaud Director · Menno Meyjes Screenplay Hans Ruesch Author
Worldwide gross $5.4M · Budget $40M · United States release March 1, 2013
Box office
Budget
$40,000,000
Worldwide gross
$5,446,000
Gross vs. budget
0.1×
Production
France 2 Cinéma
Production
Quinta Communications
Production
Carthago Films
Production
Prima TV
Production
DFI
Production
Carthago Films S.a.r.l.
Production
Doha Film Institute
Production
France · Italy · Qatar · Tunisia
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English
Release dates
Australia · December 21, 2011
Theatrical
United States · March 1, 2013
Theatrical
Brazil
April 13, 2012 · Theatrical
France
December 23, 2011 · Theatrical
Germany
February 9, 2012 · Theatrical
Ireland
February 24, 2012 · Theatrical
Italy
December 22, 2011 · Theatrical
Netherlands
February 23, 2012 · Theatrical
Romania
December 21, 2011 · Theatrical
Spain
January 19, 2012 · Theatrical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.