CAIRO – A new animation movie telling the story of Prophet Muhammad’s companion Bilal ibn Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him) will be released in cinemas next September, in the first-ever animation movie produced by Arab artists.

“Releasing the official launch date of Bilal during Cannes Film Festival felt like a natural stage with its cinematic heritage and reputation,” Ayman Jamal, the producer and director of Bilal, and founder of Barajoun Entertainment, the film’s animation studio, was quoted by The National on Monday, May 16.

“We are extremely proud of the quality of animation and story-telling, unheard of being produced in the Middle East.”

The news was made public after insiders at Cannes Film Festival said the movie, titled Bilal: A New Breed of Hero‚ will be released in cinemas on September 8, 2016.

The new movie was first announced in February 2015 in Dubai by a group of Saudi professionals who have been working on the movie over the past ten years.

Produced by Barajoun Entertainment, the film was released in English to target American audience, being a story of a slave who turned to be a master in his people after Islam.

Voices in the film are played by some famous American artists including Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, the Game of Thrones star.

Bilal ibn Rabah is one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

His father and his mother were both actually prominent people before they became slaves. His father, Rabah, was actually an Arab and was not from Abyssinia.

His mother, whose name was Hamamah, was actually a princess in Abyssinia. And they were both taken as slaves on the year of the elephant, the same year in which Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was born.

Born in Makkah, the freed Ethiopian slave after accepting Islam was inseparable from the Messenger himself.

His virtuous character and beautiful soul were coupled with a delightful voice that the Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) honored by making him the first caller of Adhan (call to prayer) in Islam.