Built for Arabic. Ready for any language.
Most screenwriting tools bolt Arabic on as an afterthought. Alifba was built for it from the first letter, and writes, translates, and exports in any language you need.
We take you by the hand, from the idea to the last scene.
Focus on your story.
You write. Alifba takes care of the rest.
Any language, properly.
Built for Arabic and its right-to-left complexity, so any language, in any direction, simply works.
By writers, for writers.
Made by writers and filmmakers. We know what a script needs, because we write them too.
More than a screenplay.
Write your full script, then translate it, map its scenes, and prepare its reports, all in one place.
From writers' question to the page standard
It started with a question we heard from writers themselves: why does my Arabic page look crowded, and what does it add up to on screen? From that question came a long run of testing, reading, and conversations with writers and filmmakers, until Alifba settled on the standard you see today.
From writers' experience
Many people writing in Arabic wrote their scripts in ordinary word processors: a plain font, plain spacing, every line looking the same. A character name looks like dialogue, action looks like a transition, and you cannot tell what a page is worth on screen.
- Plain font, plain spacing
- Every line looks the same
- No difference between action and dialogue
خارجي. طريق صحراوي - غروب
سامي يوقف السيارة في منتصف الطريق. يُطفئ المحرك. ثم يخرج من السيارة.
ينظر إلى الطريق الفارغ أمامه.
الريح تعوي بين الكثبان.
وقع حوافر خلفه--
فارسة تتوقف على بعد أمتار. لا تنزل عن الحصان.
ليلى: معك خرائط ومحرك، ووصلت قبلك.
سامي يستدير ببطء.
سامي: (بابتسامة خفيفة) مبروك ربحتي السباق، الحين بتأخذيني معك لو لا؟
ليلى تنظر إليه للحظة. ثم تُشير برأسها إلى الحصان خلفها.
قطع إلى:
خارجي. كثيب مرتفع - ليل
رجل ملثّم يركع على الرمل. يمرّر أصابعه على أثر حوافر الحصان، ثم على أثر خطوات سامي بجانبه.
يرفع رأسه. في البعيد، نار صغيرة تتراقص بين الكثبان.
الرجل: (بصوت خافت) ما زالا يظنان أن الطريق لهما.
يمسح الأثر بكفّه، ثم يتبعه.
الريح تهدأ فجأة. صمت كامل.
على كثيب بعيد، ظلّ آخر يراقبه. ثم يختفي.
يخرج من عباءته خيطاً أحمر، يربطه بصخرة صغيرة، ثم يتراجع نحو الظل.
الرجل: من يتبع الأثر لا يحتاج إلى خريطة.
يضع الخيط على الرمل بعناية، كأنه يترك علامة لأحدٍ ما.
من بعيد، صهيل حصان. ثم لا شيء.
خلفهم جميعاً، على الرمل، آثار الأقدام تمتلئ بالريح، ولا يبقى منها شيء.
What we tried
We tried the layout known from the big screenwriting tools, with a typewriter font and measured spacing. But it was built for English.
A screenplay is punched with three holes and held by two brass brads, in the top and bottom holes, with the middle one left empty. That is why English leaves a wider margin on the left. When these tools added Arabic, they kept the wide margin on the left, so text that starts on the right clings to the edge, far from the binding side.
What the standard settled on
We started from the other side. The binding side is on the right, where Arabic writing begins, and the wide margin is left there. The rest of the spacing follows from it.
- A clear Arabic typeface that stays comfortable at screenplay size
- Line and element spacing that supports quick reading
- Dialogue margins balanced on both sides, because Arabic reads right to left
- The same spacing from the first page to the last
What you get
One page equals one minute of screen time. You know the length of your film while you write, and a producer reads your script at the rhythm you meant.
Because every screenplay starts at the first letter.
Alif and Baa are the first two letters of the Arabic alphabet, and the first thing any writer learns.
We chose the name because it begins where every screenplay begins, and stays with you from the first letter to the last scene.
Your story, from the first letter to the last scene.
Three free days in the editor before you pick a plan.