Exclusive: Netflix has handed control to its Arabic content slate to long-serving exec Nuha El Tayeb following the exit of Ahmed Sharkawi.
El Tayeb has been with Netflix since 2018 and rose to her current role as Content Director for the Middle East & North Africa (Mena) region and Turkey in December 2019.
Following the exit of Arabic originals boss Sharkawi this month, she will expand her role to oversee the entire Arabic content slate, spanning acquisitions and originals for film and TV, both in scripted and unscripted. We understand she will be based at Netflix’s international HQ in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Sharkawi, who was Director of Arabic Content, Development, for the past five years out of Amsterdam, announced on LinkedIn earlier this month that he was leaving after “an unforgettable journey” and was “excited for new adventures ahead.” He exits Netflix under amicable circumstances. C21 first reported on his exit.
Under...
El Tayeb has been with Netflix since 2018 and rose to her current role as Content Director for the Middle East & North Africa (Mena) region and Turkey in December 2019.
Following the exit of Arabic originals boss Sharkawi this month, she will expand her role to oversee the entire Arabic content slate, spanning acquisitions and originals for film and TV, both in scripted and unscripted. We understand she will be based at Netflix’s international HQ in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Sharkawi, who was Director of Arabic Content, Development, for the past five years out of Amsterdam, announced on LinkedIn earlier this month that he was leaving after “an unforgettable journey” and was “excited for new adventures ahead.” He exits Netflix under amicable circumstances. C21 first reported on his exit.
Under...
- 3/7/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has unveiled the highlights of its Original Arabic-language content for the Middle East and North Africa in 2024, with shows coming out of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan.
Fresh announcements included the second season of hit female-driven, Kuwaiti finance world drama The Exchange and a third season of unscripted show Dubai Bling, which Netflix promised would “delve deeper” into the lives of the existing characters and expand the “Dubai Bling family”.
Netflix also announced the arrival of Tunisia acting star Dhafer L’Abidine in the cast of the second season of Hend Sabry’s drama Finding Ola.
He joins Sabry in a cast also featuring Sawsan Badr, Hany Adel, Nada Moussa, Mahmoud El Leithy, Acel Ramzy, Omar Sherif, Yasmina El-Abd and Tarek el Ebiary.
In this new season, as the titular Ola’s business teeters on the edge of collapse, she discovers the need to reinvent herself and embarks...
Fresh announcements included the second season of hit female-driven, Kuwaiti finance world drama The Exchange and a third season of unscripted show Dubai Bling, which Netflix promised would “delve deeper” into the lives of the existing characters and expand the “Dubai Bling family”.
Netflix also announced the arrival of Tunisia acting star Dhafer L’Abidine in the cast of the second season of Hend Sabry’s drama Finding Ola.
He joins Sabry in a cast also featuring Sawsan Badr, Hany Adel, Nada Moussa, Mahmoud El Leithy, Acel Ramzy, Omar Sherif, Yasmina El-Abd and Tarek el Ebiary.
In this new season, as the titular Ola’s business teeters on the edge of collapse, she discovers the need to reinvent herself and embarks...
- 2/1/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Yasmina El-Abd has signed with David Unger’s Artist International Group (Aig) for U.S. representation.
The rising Mena actress is currently starring in Mbc Studios’ ground breaking Arabic-language musical feature Sukkar, which is due to hit streamer Shahid on December 24 following a strong box office run that began in October. She is signed up to star in a follow up, we hear.
El-Abd has also had parts in Middle Eastern Netflix original Finding Ola and HBO Max and Cbbc kids series Theodosia, and is co-starring in Adi Hasak’s upcoming James Franco series Karantina, which has Adi TV Studios, Dynamic Television, Mbc, Zdf, Asacha Media Group, Blond and Tanweer attached.
She is also reprise her role as Zeina in season 2 of the Netflix’s Egyptian comedy-drama Finding Ola. Season 1 launched in February 2022 and made it into the Top 10 worldwide and topped the charts in the Arab-speaking world for three weeks.
The rising Mena actress is currently starring in Mbc Studios’ ground breaking Arabic-language musical feature Sukkar, which is due to hit streamer Shahid on December 24 following a strong box office run that began in October. She is signed up to star in a follow up, we hear.
El-Abd has also had parts in Middle Eastern Netflix original Finding Ola and HBO Max and Cbbc kids series Theodosia, and is co-starring in Adi Hasak’s upcoming James Franco series Karantina, which has Adi TV Studios, Dynamic Television, Mbc, Zdf, Asacha Media Group, Blond and Tanweer attached.
She is also reprise her role as Zeina in season 2 of the Netflix’s Egyptian comedy-drama Finding Ola. Season 1 launched in February 2022 and made it into the Top 10 worldwide and topped the charts in the Arab-speaking world for three weeks.
- 12/18/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
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
Welcome to International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we talk to Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry, who walks us through the second season of her hit Netflix show Finding Ola, signing with CAA as well as the future of filmmaking in Egypt.
Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry is talking to Deadline from the set of Season 2 of her hit Netflix show Finding Ola.
“I can’t disclose where we’re filming, only that we’re in production,” she says over a WhatsApp video call, talking between shots in full costume.
One certainty is that the titular heroine will be leaving her home city of Cairo and Egypt for at least part of the upcoming new season.
The show is a reboot of 2010 Egyptian TV classic Ayza Atgawez, starring Sabry as a middle-class,...
Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry is talking to Deadline from the set of Season 2 of her hit Netflix show Finding Ola.
“I can’t disclose where we’re filming, only that we’re in production,” she says over a WhatsApp video call, talking between shots in full costume.
One certainty is that the titular heroine will be leaving her home city of Cairo and Egypt for at least part of the upcoming new season.
The show is a reboot of 2010 Egyptian TV classic Ayza Atgawez, starring Sabry as a middle-class,...
- 9/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabry has signed with CAA for representation.
Sabry is among the most respected contemporary actresses from North Africa, with a career spanning more than 50 projects in film, TV and radio.
She will next be seen in Kaouther Ben Hania’s new film Four Daughters, which has been selected to premiere as an official selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Sabry began her acting career aged 14 in the 1994 Tunisian movie Samt Al Qosour (Silences Of The Palace), and won her first Best Actress Award from the Carthage Film Festival at the age of 15.
Since then, she has won more than 30 awards, including prizes for her performance in the 2019 Tunisian film Noura’s Dream which played at Cannes, Carthage, and El Gouna.
Among Sabry’s films to have achieved commercial success are Blue Elephant 2 and Kira And El Gin, both of which broke Egyptian box office records on release.
Sabry is among the most respected contemporary actresses from North Africa, with a career spanning more than 50 projects in film, TV and radio.
She will next be seen in Kaouther Ben Hania’s new film Four Daughters, which has been selected to premiere as an official selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Sabry began her acting career aged 14 in the 1994 Tunisian movie Samt Al Qosour (Silences Of The Palace), and won her first Best Actress Award from the Carthage Film Festival at the age of 15.
Since then, she has won more than 30 awards, including prizes for her performance in the 2019 Tunisian film Noura’s Dream which played at Cannes, Carthage, and El Gouna.
Among Sabry’s films to have achieved commercial success are Blue Elephant 2 and Kira And El Gin, both of which broke Egyptian box office records on release.
- 5/2/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix is launching an incubator to help foster female screenwriters in Egypt.
The U.S. streaming giant has partnered with Sard, a dedicated hub for screenwriters in the Arab world on a writing program called Because She Created.
Its stated goal is training twenty women from outside Cairo and to “expose untapped talent to the creative tools and industry insight needed to advance their creative and professional development,” Netflix said in a statement.
The program is financed by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity.
Sard was founded by award-winning writer Mariam Naoum in 2016 as a space for aspiring screenwriters to improve their writing skills and unleash their creative potential.
Naoum is a prominent Egyptian screenwriter and social activist whose credits include Kamla Abou Zekry’s Cairo-set ensemble film “One/Zero”; and the TV series “A Girl named Zat,” “Heat Wave” and “The Women’s Prison,” a scathing exploration of the Egyptian prison system,...
The U.S. streaming giant has partnered with Sard, a dedicated hub for screenwriters in the Arab world on a writing program called Because She Created.
Its stated goal is training twenty women from outside Cairo and to “expose untapped talent to the creative tools and industry insight needed to advance their creative and professional development,” Netflix said in a statement.
The program is financed by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity.
Sard was founded by award-winning writer Mariam Naoum in 2016 as a space for aspiring screenwriters to improve their writing skills and unleash their creative potential.
Naoum is a prominent Egyptian screenwriter and social activist whose credits include Kamla Abou Zekry’s Cairo-set ensemble film “One/Zero”; and the TV series “A Girl named Zat,” “Heat Wave” and “The Women’s Prison,” a scathing exploration of the Egyptian prison system,...
- 8/16/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The five projects are from Tunisia, Lebanon, and Morocco.
Five female Arab producers and directors have received a total of 250,000 from Netflix and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Afac) in an initative aimed at strenghtening the pipeline of Arab women behind the camera.
The recipients are Moroccan director-producer Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies’, Tunisian director-producer Sarra Abidi with her project My Name Is Clara, and Diala Kachmar’s From The Other Shore, Jana Wehbe’s The Day Vladimir Died and Tania Khoury’s Manity, all from Lebanon.
“More and more Arab women filmmakers are...
Five female Arab producers and directors have received a total of 250,000 from Netflix and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Afac) in an initative aimed at strenghtening the pipeline of Arab women behind the camera.
The recipients are Moroccan director-producer Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies’, Tunisian director-producer Sarra Abidi with her project My Name Is Clara, and Diala Kachmar’s From The Other Shore, Jana Wehbe’s The Day Vladimir Died and Tania Khoury’s Manity, all from Lebanon.
“More and more Arab women filmmakers are...
- 4/19/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
The five projects are from Tunisia, Lebanon, and Morocco.
Five female Arab producers and directors have received a total of 250,000 from Netflix and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Afac) in an initative aimed at strenghtening the pipeline of Arab women behind the camera.
The recipients are Moroccan director-producer Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies’, Tunisian director-producer Sarra Abidi with her project My Name Is Clara, and Diala Kachmar’s From The Other Shore, Jana Wehbe’s The Day Vladimir Died and Tania Khoury’s Manity, all from Lebanon.
“More and more Arab women filmmakers are...
Five female Arab producers and directors have received a total of 250,000 from Netflix and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Afac) in an initative aimed at strenghtening the pipeline of Arab women behind the camera.
The recipients are Moroccan director-producer Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies’, Tunisian director-producer Sarra Abidi with her project My Name Is Clara, and Diala Kachmar’s From The Other Shore, Jana Wehbe’s The Day Vladimir Died and Tania Khoury’s Manity, all from Lebanon.
“More and more Arab women filmmakers are...
- 4/19/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
The year 2022 has started out strong for Netflix in Arabic-speaking countries, where its edgy originals are making a punchy debut.
The streamer’s first Arab original film, “Perfect Strangers,” sparked an uproar in socially conservative Egypt due to its portrayal of a gay male character and taboo storylines. Meanwhile, “Finding Ola” toplines Cairo-based Tunisian star Hend Sabry as a happy divorcee who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after her divorce. Both are reflections of the streamer’s thematically groundbreaking strategy in the region, says Nuha Eltayeb, Netflix’s director of acquisitions in Mena and Turkey.
“We’re looking for content that will create impact for the viewers, where they will find it authentic and representative, and at the same time relatable to their day-to-day storylines,” says Eltayeb.
Since its Jan. 20 debut, “Perfect Strangers” has risen to the top of Netflix viewing charts in Arab countries including Morocco, Egypt and...
The streamer’s first Arab original film, “Perfect Strangers,” sparked an uproar in socially conservative Egypt due to its portrayal of a gay male character and taboo storylines. Meanwhile, “Finding Ola” toplines Cairo-based Tunisian star Hend Sabry as a happy divorcee who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after her divorce. Both are reflections of the streamer’s thematically groundbreaking strategy in the region, says Nuha Eltayeb, Netflix’s director of acquisitions in Mena and Turkey.
“We’re looking for content that will create impact for the viewers, where they will find it authentic and representative, and at the same time relatable to their day-to-day storylines,” says Eltayeb.
Since its Jan. 20 debut, “Perfect Strangers” has risen to the top of Netflix viewing charts in Arab countries including Morocco, Egypt and...
- 2/3/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
It’s cold outside in the Northern Hemisphere. Thankfully, the magic of streaming means you’ll never have to go outside again! Netflix’s list of new releases for February 2022 is full of original titles that could make a quick month go by even quicker.
The biggest Netflix original series in February is undoubtedly Vikings: Valhalla. This Vikings spinoff premieres Feb. 25 takes a time jump to bring our Nordic friends into conflict with Western Europe and a burgeoning Christian movement. Before that, however, Netflix will be premiering Raising Dion season 2 (Feb. 1), Murderville (Feb. 3), Inventing Anna (Feb. 11), and exciting video game adaptation The Cuphead Show. (Feb. 18).
Read more TV Vikings Season 6: Where in the (New) World are Ubbe and Floki? By Jamie Andrew TV Vikings: Valhalla – What The Timeline Reveals By Jamie Andrew
There are some intriguing Netflix original movie options this month as well. Documentary The Tinder Swindler premieres on Feb.
The biggest Netflix original series in February is undoubtedly Vikings: Valhalla. This Vikings spinoff premieres Feb. 25 takes a time jump to bring our Nordic friends into conflict with Western Europe and a burgeoning Christian movement. Before that, however, Netflix will be premiering Raising Dion season 2 (Feb. 1), Murderville (Feb. 3), Inventing Anna (Feb. 11), and exciting video game adaptation The Cuphead Show. (Feb. 18).
Read more TV Vikings Season 6: Where in the (New) World are Ubbe and Floki? By Jamie Andrew TV Vikings: Valhalla – What The Timeline Reveals By Jamie Andrew
There are some intriguing Netflix original movie options this month as well. Documentary The Tinder Swindler premieres on Feb.
- 2/1/2022
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
February brings a Kanye West documentary, masked monsters and much, much more to Netflix. Below we’ve compiled a complete list of what’s new on Netflix in February 2022, and it includes the Kanye West documentary trilogy “jeen-yuhs,” which will roll out one part each week for three weeks starting on Feb. 16.
February also brings a brand new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie to the streaming service on Feb. 18, and if it’s Valentine’s Day content you’re looking for, the second season of reality series “Love Is Blind” launches on Feb. 11 while the spinoff “Love Is Blind Japan” arrives on Feb. 8. New installments of the animated series “Disenchantment” and “Kid Cosmic” as well as “Steel Magnolias” and “Space Force” are also due in February, and the new Will Arnett comedy series “Murderville” launches on Feb. 3.
In terms of library titles, February brings the Tom Cruise-fronted “The Last Samurai,...
February also brings a brand new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie to the streaming service on Feb. 18, and if it’s Valentine’s Day content you’re looking for, the second season of reality series “Love Is Blind” launches on Feb. 11 while the spinoff “Love Is Blind Japan” arrives on Feb. 8. New installments of the animated series “Disenchantment” and “Kid Cosmic” as well as “Steel Magnolias” and “Space Force” are also due in February, and the new Will Arnett comedy series “Murderville” launches on Feb. 3.
In terms of library titles, February brings the Tom Cruise-fronted “The Last Samurai,...
- 2/1/2022
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
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