''Katas ng Saudi'' () is a 2007 Philippine

comedy drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

directed by

Jose Javier Reyes Jose "Joey" Javier Reyes (born October 21, 1954) is a Filipino director, screenwriter, lyricist, and actor. He has won awards at the Gawad Urian, Metro Manila Film Festival and Filipino Star Awards for Movies for his films, which include ''Pa ...

under

Maverick Films Maverick Films is a Philippine film production company owned by Jinggoy Estrada. History 1999-2001: Millennium Cinema The film company was established in 1999 by actor-politician Jinggoy Estrada and producer Eric Cuatico as Millennium Cinema, ...

. The film revolves around an

Overseas Filipino Worker Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...

who returns to the Philippines from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

after working for ten years to reunite with his family.

Cast

Jinggoy Estrada Jose Pimentel Ejercito Jr. (born February 17, 1963), better known as Jinggoy Estrada or Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, is a Filipino politician and film actor serving as a senator since 2022 and previously from 2004 to 2016. He is the current presi ...

as Oca *

Lorna Tolentino Victoria Lorna Perez Aluquin-Fernandez (born December 23, 1961), better known by her stage name Lorna Tolentino, sometimes known as ''L.T.'', an abbreviation of her screen name, is a Filipino actress, model, film producer and television persona ...

as Marcy, Oca's wife *

Arron Villaflor Arron Lumba Villaflor (born July 5, 1990) is a Filipino rapper and actor. He started his career in Philippines' showbiz industry in the second season of ''Star Circle Quest'' where he finished as the runner-up. He is currently managed by Co ...

as Ryan, Oca's son, who is suspected to be gay due to being engrossed with his studies and not dating. *

Shaina Magdayao Shaina Garcia Magdayao (; born November 6, 1989) is a Filipino actress. Known primarily for her dramatic roles in film and television, she began her career as a child actress and starred in her first titular role ''Lyra (TV series), Lyra''. She ...

as Cathy, Oca's daughter * Julian Estrada as Biboy, Oca's son *

Eugene Domingo Eugenia "Eugene" Roxas Domingo-Bottoni (; born July 23, 1971), is a Filipino actress, comedienne and host. She has performed in lead and supporting roles in various genres of the Philippine film industry. She is popularly known as the "Comedy ...

as Tessie *

Vangie Labalan Maria Cristina Labalan (born January 20, 1943), known professionally as Vangie Labalan is a Filipino actress, comedian, acting coach, and voice actress. Life Maria Cristina Labalan was born on January 20, 1943 in Bago, Negros Occidental. She is ...

as Mameng, Oca's mother *

Bayani Agbayani Bayani Sequita Rogacion Jr. (born January 3, 1969), known professionally as Bayani Agbayani, is a Filipino host, actor, singer, and comedian. After 15 years at ABS-CBN, he shuttled between his original home studio GMA Network and TV5 for the t ...

as Pol, Oca's best friend *

Liza Lorena Elizabeth Ann Jolene Luciano Winsett (born October 31, 1948) known professionally as Liza Lorena is a Filipina actress. She was a First Runner-Up in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant in 1966. Career Lorena was a flight stewardess (for PAL domest ...

as Noemi *

Dick Israel Ricardo Vizcarra Michaca (December 10, 1947 – October 11, 2016), known by his stage name Dick Israel, was a Filipino character actor who played mostly Khazar villain and sidekick roles in many Filipino movies. He later branched out in televi ...

*Mandy Ochoa *Ernie Zarate *

Rayver Cruz Raymond Oliver Cruz Ilustre (born July 20, 1989), better known by his screen name Rayver Cruz (), is a Filipino actor. He is the younger brother of fellow actor and dancer Rodjun Cruz. He is currently an exclusive actor of GMA Network. Per ...

as Kyle, a suitor of Magdayao's character

Production

''Katas ng Saudi'' was produced under

which is associated with the Estrada

political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly Election, electoral politics. Members may be related by consanguinity, blood or marriage; often several gene ...

. The film risked not being completed due to controversies of former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

was facing which rendered the politician hesitant to provide funding for the film. Lead actor

managed to convince his father to give greenlight to the film relying on the film's theme of tackling issues of

Overseas Filipino Workers Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...

. The film was also used as an opportunity to introduce Jinggoy's son Julian in the film industry.

Release

''Katas ng Saudi'' was released in the Philippines on December 25, 2007, as one of the official entries of the 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival.

References

{{reflist Films about Filipino families Philippine comedy-drama films Films about migrant workers