Amr Waked Stars in a British Film

Actor Amr Waked is to star in the British film “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”. The film centers around a crazy idea that is the brainchild of Waked’s character. Waked portrays a Yemeni sheikh obsessed with salmon. The sheikh calls on the services of fisheries scientist Dr. Alfred Jones (portrayed by “Moulin Rouge” star Ewan McGregor) to shift a group of salmon to the deserts of Yemen so that they could populate a fish farm or lake in that region. The British government takes an active interest in the project, seeing as it represents a chance for something positive to take place in a region which has seen much conflict. Thus, Britain assigns a representative (portrayed by Kristin Scott Thomas) to follow-up on its progress. The film is directed by Lasse Halstrom who has been awarded the Oscar for his work on “Chocolat” and the production is a joint effort by BBC Films, Kudos, the UK Film Council and the Lion’s Gate Company. Shooting began yesterday in London, Scotland and Morroco and will continue for 9 weeks.