Noticias

Beirut-based production powerhouse Cedars Art Productions is not slowing down despite the ongoing Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon.

Sadek Sabbah — who is CEO of the prominent Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region TV and film company that also has offices in Cairo, Casablanca and Dubai — is at Mipcom with a rich slate. Though Cedars Art was meant to be celebrating its 70-year anniversary in Cannes, they are now just taking note of the recurrence. “I don’t want to say ‘celebrating’ due to the chaos that is happening in Lebanon and Palestine,” Sabbah tells Variety.

The Mipcom slate of Cedars Art – which has long been spearheading efforts for Arab shows to gain more international eyeballs – is toplined by “Far Away,” a Turkish adaptation of their hit Arabic show “Al Hayba” about a family of arms smugglers. It marks a milestone of sorts, since Turkey is among the world’s top exporters of TV dramas.

The fire that engulfed a section of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival’s Festival Plaza on Wednesday turned out to be a minor deterrent as the event’s fifth anniversary got off to a rousing start on Thursday.

The fire, the cause of which has not yet been confirmed but is possibly a short circuit, was contained swiftly, with Samih Sawiris, chair of festival parent company Orascom Development Holding, personally supervizing repairs. By the end of the process, it was like a fire had never happened.

Variety spoke to a selection of attendees including jury members, film festival programmers, journalists and local staff about the fire and none of them expressed any safety concerns.

Sawiris was very much in evidence during the festival’s opening ceremony, held as scheduled at the Festival Plaza, appearing on stage twice. The 90-minute event featuring several speeches in Arabic (with English translations available...

Breaking Bad — commonly listed among the greatest TV shows ever made — has undoubtedly spawned a few imitators over the years. But it's unlikely any look quite like Weld El-Ghalaba.

The Egyptian series — which translates as Son of the Poor in English — launched recently on pan-Arab broadcast giant Mbc to coincide with the month of Ramadan, a period heavy in small-screen drama across the Middle East as families flock to their TVs.

But rather than praise the acting of its lead star Ahmed El-Sakka — a major name in Egyptian cinema, especially in action roles ...