In the 1930's Arab states, two warring leaders come face to face. Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down peace terms to his rival Amar, the Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither may claim the area of no man's land between them, dubbed The Yellow Belt. According to the tribal customs of the time, Nesib will "adopt"- or take hostage- Amar's two boys Saleeh and Auda in return; a guarantee that means neither man can invade the other.
Years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, who is now a warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father's land. Auda, on the other hand, cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge.
Unfortunately, Saleeh is killed in his attempts to escape and return to his father's kingdom. The task of negotiating peace between the two kingdoms falls to young, reluctant Auda.
Auda is sent to Salmaah as an emissary of peace. He is reunited with his father Amar, who offers him a seemingly impossible task: Auda must cross the forbidding desert landscape as a decoy with nothing more than a ragtag army of thieves.
The stage is now set for an epic showdown for control of the Yellow Belt; the two kingdoms and the future of the Arab states.
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim, Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Eriq Ebouaney, Corey Johnson, Liya Kebede
Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Black Gold is released in cinemas on 24th Febuary