Original TV series based on Arab and Muslim characters are beginning to go global, a Netflix executive said Saturday at the Red Sea Film Festival.
Ahmed Sharkawi, director of Arab content, Netflix Europe, Middle East and Africa, said that a new, distinctive voice was emerging from the region.
“Recently, a friend called me and her mother-in-law – who is 100% American – was recommending one of our Arab series [“Finding Ola,” starring Hind Sabri] to all her friends,” he said at a panel about writing for television.
“This wave [of Arab and Muslim stories] is beginning; the U.S. audience is becoming open to watching stories that are outside of the U.S. experience.”
The region was rich in a tradition of storytelling that meant there were many original scripts being written, he said.
“There are so many stories in this region that have not been told before, so [our job is] about harvesting that intellectual property.”
“This is a culture...
Ahmed Sharkawi, director of Arab content, Netflix Europe, Middle East and Africa, said that a new, distinctive voice was emerging from the region.
“Recently, a friend called me and her mother-in-law – who is 100% American – was recommending one of our Arab series [“Finding Ola,” starring Hind Sabri] to all her friends,” he said at a panel about writing for television.
“This wave [of Arab and Muslim stories] is beginning; the U.S. audience is becoming open to watching stories that are outside of the U.S. experience.”
The region was rich in a tradition of storytelling that meant there were many original scripts being written, he said.
“There are so many stories in this region that have not been told before, so [our job is] about harvesting that intellectual property.”
“This is a culture...
- 12/2/2023
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
The end of peak TV, the contrasting explosion of storytelling opportunities in the Middle East, AI and the portrayal were among the hot topics of debate as Red Sea 360°, the panel program of the market portion of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia kicked off on Saturday.
Starting off the sessions of the third edition of the fest was a panel entitled “The Writer’s Journey: Navigating Scripts for Film, TV & Future Storytelling Formats.” Appearing on it were Ahmed Sharkawi, director of Arab content development at Netflix Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea), Karim Zreik, executive producer and president of Cedar Tree Productions, Sheri Elwood, executive producer, writer and director at Elwood Ink, and writer and journalist Mohamed Hassan who is the creator and showrunner of the Sky original series Miles From Nowhere, a comedy about identity, surveillance and the Muslim community, which is premiering at the festival.
Starting off the sessions of the third edition of the fest was a panel entitled “The Writer’s Journey: Navigating Scripts for Film, TV & Future Storytelling Formats.” Appearing on it were Ahmed Sharkawi, director of Arab content development at Netflix Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea), Karim Zreik, executive producer and president of Cedar Tree Productions, Sheri Elwood, executive producer, writer and director at Elwood Ink, and writer and journalist Mohamed Hassan who is the creator and showrunner of the Sky original series Miles From Nowhere, a comedy about identity, surveillance and the Muslim community, which is premiering at the festival.
- 12/2/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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