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Middle East and North Africa film and TV industry veterans Emad Morcos, Amanda Turnbull and Amel Farag have joined forces to launch Mena-focused company Rise Studios, with the aim of breaking fresh ground in the region as a provider of premium content across all genres.
Morcos is a former Chief Content and Commercial Officer at Dubai-based multi-platform entertainment company Orbit Showtime Network (Osn); Turnbull was previously General Manager at Warner Bros Discovery Middle East, Africa and Turkey, and Amel Farag was former Head of Content Commercial Strategy at Osn.
The trio have ambitions to build a company that is capable of producing a steady flow of content across all genres and formats by talents based across the Middle East and North Africa, that is suitable for movie chains, streaming platforms, free-to-air and digital television and social media channels.
“I came from the other side of the equation. I spent many...
Morcos is a former Chief Content and Commercial Officer at Dubai-based multi-platform entertainment company Orbit Showtime Network (Osn); Turnbull was previously General Manager at Warner Bros Discovery Middle East, Africa and Turkey, and Amel Farag was former Head of Content Commercial Strategy at Osn.
The trio have ambitions to build a company that is capable of producing a steady flow of content across all genres and formats by talents based across the Middle East and North Africa, that is suitable for movie chains, streaming platforms, free-to-air and digital television and social media channels.
“I came from the other side of the equation. I spent many...
- 10/12/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
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Former Warner Bros. Discovery and Osn executives are teaming up to form a new content studio serving the Middle East and North Africa, Variety can reveal.
Rise Studios is being set up by industry veterans Emad Morcos, former Osn chief content and commercial officer; Amanda Turnbull, former general manager at Warner Bros. Discovery Middle East, Africa and Turkey; and Amel Farag, former head of content commercial strategy at Osn.
Rise will invest in local content and talent in order to launch homegrown film and TV productions on both regional and global broadcasters and streaming platforms.
“We’re really committed to the region,” Turnbull tells Variety. “It’s changing so rapidly: Cinema is having a renaissance in the region, and all the streamers are also piling in. There’s increasing opportunity and complexity across the landscape and fantastic ideas we want to tap into.”
The outfit, which plans to cultivate a network of local producers,...
Rise Studios is being set up by industry veterans Emad Morcos, former Osn chief content and commercial officer; Amanda Turnbull, former general manager at Warner Bros. Discovery Middle East, Africa and Turkey; and Amel Farag, former head of content commercial strategy at Osn.
Rise will invest in local content and talent in order to launch homegrown film and TV productions on both regional and global broadcasters and streaming platforms.
“We’re really committed to the region,” Turnbull tells Variety. “It’s changing so rapidly: Cinema is having a renaissance in the region, and all the streamers are also piling in. There’s increasing opportunity and complexity across the landscape and fantastic ideas we want to tap into.”
The outfit, which plans to cultivate a network of local producers,...
- 10/12/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
![James Corden, Ruth Jones, Joanna Page, and Mathew Horne in Gavin & Stacey (2007)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjBhZmZhMDQtM2RmYS00YTlmLTgyYWYtN2I5YTQ2NjRhMTRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI5OTk3NDY5._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,1,140,207_.jpg)
![James Corden, Ruth Jones, Joanna Page, and Mathew Horne in Gavin & Stacey (2007)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjBhZmZhMDQtM2RmYS00YTlmLTgyYWYtN2I5YTQ2NjRhMTRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI5OTk3NDY5._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,1,140,207_.jpg)
In this week’s International TV Newswire, Variety looks at what Netflix overseas rankings say about its business model, a BBC iPlayer smash hit, Viacom’s latest production as it swells Spanish-language scripted titles at Miami-based Viacom Intl. Studios, a Netflix Egyptian puppet show, and HBO Latin America’ first fantasy suspense series in Brazil:
Netflix: Rankings Suggest Early Successes of International Business Model
“Extremely proud of our originals around the world…proof that great stories can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere.” Netflix tweeted Dec. 30 as, for the first time, it unveiled its most-watched titles in major markets worldwide. With slow news-flow throughout the week, it remains its major talking point. There were surprises. How come “Dark” Season 2 didn’t make the Top 10 most-watched series in Germany? More to the point, however, the ranking offer the first chance ever, to test what has become Netflix’s main gambit as...
Netflix: Rankings Suggest Early Successes of International Business Model
“Extremely proud of our originals around the world…proof that great stories can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere.” Netflix tweeted Dec. 30 as, for the first time, it unveiled its most-watched titles in major markets worldwide. With slow news-flow throughout the week, it remains its major talking point. There were surprises. How come “Dark” Season 2 didn’t make the Top 10 most-watched series in Germany? More to the point, however, the ranking offer the first chance ever, to test what has become Netflix’s main gambit as...
- 1/3/2020
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has commissioned its second Egyptian original series, a collaboration with satirical puppet character Abla Fahita, a star in the region.
Scheduled for release in 2020, the show will be produced by Okwrd production in cooperation with Asap Productions & Ep Amin El Masri. The comedy drama will show how Fahita’s life is turned upside down following her stardom. It will mark the character’s first attempt at acting in a scripted series.
Ahmed Sharkawi, Director of International Originals, Netflix said, “We are very excited to be collaborating with Abla Fahita, one of the most prominent comedians in Egypt and the wider Arab region. We are looking forward to working with Abla Fahita in order to bring our Arab and international audience a fun innovative series full of laughter and excitement.”
Commenting on her partnership with Netflix, Abla Fahita added, “Damn this globalization! I barely had enough time for my own...
Scheduled for release in 2020, the show will be produced by Okwrd production in cooperation with Asap Productions & Ep Amin El Masri. The comedy drama will show how Fahita’s life is turned upside down following her stardom. It will mark the character’s first attempt at acting in a scripted series.
Ahmed Sharkawi, Director of International Originals, Netflix said, “We are very excited to be collaborating with Abla Fahita, one of the most prominent comedians in Egypt and the wider Arab region. We are looking forward to working with Abla Fahita in order to bring our Arab and international audience a fun innovative series full of laughter and excitement.”
Commenting on her partnership with Netflix, Abla Fahita added, “Damn this globalization! I barely had enough time for my own...
- 12/23/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
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