Hiba Bennani is all set to play as female lead in MBC’s upcoming drama Rass Jbel. She will be playing as Yasmina in what is essentially a Moroccan reimagining of Al Hayba (الهيبة), that Lebanese-Syrian drama Cedars Art Production brought to screens back in 2017. The series will also feature Asaad Bouab, Nora Skali, Amine Ennaji, Salwa Zarhane, Nasser Akabab, and Oussama Bastaoui
The story is a mix of love, honor, and power struggles. Yasmina flies back from Montreal to bury her husband, but things change quickly and she ends up trapped in the town of Rass Jbel. Where she is unable to leave because her son is the heir to the powerful Fadlaoui clan. What follows is her increasingly risky attempt to stay close to him and keep him safe. Even if it means making choices that put her in danger.
The original Al Hayba was massive. It aired on MBC Drama, Netflix, Shahid, MTV Lebanon, and Orbit Showtime, running five successful seasons from 2017 to 2020 and becoming a genuine phenomenon throughout the Arabic-speaking world. Turkey even made their own version called Al Madina Al Baida.
Bennani has been steadily building momentum since her compelling performance as Tara in Season 5 of Apple TV Slow Horses, where she held her own acting alongside heavyweight names like Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, and Kristin Scott Thomas.
She has been working on various kinds of projects such as Prime Target, plus the French-Arabic short Donkey Skin, comedy-drama 1995, Moroccan social drama 2 Wjouh, and Showtime/Paramount+’s espionage series Ghosts of Beirut.
People first started buzzing about her Rass Jbel casting when hints dropped on the red carpet at the Marrakech International Film Festival.
