EXCLUSIVE: Tarek Al Arian,  who is best known for Arabic-language The Ladder and The Snake and Sons of Rizk franchises, is developing a drama about infamous early 20th Century French courtesan Marguerite Alibert.

Alibert gained notoriety for her affair with the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor, in 1917 while he was stationed in Paris, and then for shooting dead her wealthy Egyptian aristocrat husband Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey in The Savoy Hotel in London in 1923.

The project marks a first project set outside the Middle East for the Egyptian-based Palestinian director and producer.  who has spearheaded dozens of hit series and features under the banner of his Framework for Film Production banner.

“I like character driven stories. It’s an intriguing story. At the trial she claimed that it was self defence. She was cleared and then inherited his wealth. He was maybe the richest guy in Egypt back then,” said Al Arian who is in Cannes for the first time in many years.

“The idea would be to shoot in France, the UK and Egypt, and maybe in French, but probably in English. She didn’t speak Arabic, so they communicated in English. Marguerite is a very interesting character while her relationship with her Egyptian husband was toxic.”

Al Arian also has several Arabic-language projects on the boil including a psychological horror titled Altahwida (Lullaby) about a professor who loses one of his twin daughters in a car accident but is in denial over her death.

He is also working on prequel for this Sons of Rizk trilogy, spanning  Sons of Rizk (2015), Sons of Rizk 2: Return of the Lions of The Land (2019), and Sons of Rizk 3: The Verdict (2024).

The feature will go back to the origin story of the four brothers hailing from a Cairo crime family at the heart of the franchise.

“I think the attraction of the Sons of Rizk franchise is the relationship between the brothers. There is also a lot of humor and comedy. The fourth one will go back 25 years, and look at their criminal beginnings as they pull-off a very smart, tricky heist.”

Al Arian says his hope is that the prequel – featuring rising talents such as Ahmed Malek – will draw a new generation of spectators to the franchise as well as loyal fans.