Mena Massoud to Voice 13th Century Persian Poet Rumi in Upcoming Animated Film

Throughout Arab people internet, every quote you could find has been attributed to the 13th century Persian poet, Rumi, one way or another. If you saw a post on social media saying something like, "What you seek is seeking you," or "You are the universe in ecstatic motion," then you've heard of Rumi, even if you didn't realize it. Heck, his poetry is so prolific that even everything we write here at CairoScene is plagiarized from his various musing of love and ecstasy. How else could we imbue our writing with so much soul without him? So you can imagine our excitement when we found out an Egyptian - none other than Mena Massoud of 'Aladdin' fame - will lend his voice to the man who is still selling books like hotcakes after 800 years in the upcoming animated film, 'Lamya's Poem'.

The movie charts the story of a 12-year-old Syrian refugee who is given a book of Rumi's poetry. As the perils of her journey mount, the book becomes a magical gateway where she meets the young Rumi when he was a refugee himself, escaping the terrible wars of his time. In a shared dream world populated by monsters and demons that represent the perils they face on their respective journeys, the girl must help young Rumi write the poem that will eventually save her life.

The Unity Productions Foundation-financed picture is written and will be directed by Alexander Kronemer, who was inspired to create this film by one of Rumi's most moving quotes: “The wound is the place where the light enters you.”

The film's cast features Millie Davis (Wonder) and Faran Tahir (Iron Man), and is set to be released this year.