Looking to watch the Arab world’s most iconic films? Youssef Chahine, Nadine Labaki and Anne Marie Jacir’s best films are just a click away on Netflix. Since going international in 2016, its commitment to the Arab world has been nothing short of remarkable. And it goes beyond accessibility.
The streaming giant is actively searching for Arab storytellers to invest in. As per an announcement by Ahmed Sharkawi, the director of Arab and African Original series at Netflix, the company is on the hunt for its next big Arabic original series.
We are here to tell stories by Arabs for Arabs, and then take them to the world,” said Sharkawi in a statement. “We want to collaborate with creators from all around the Arab world. What we are looking for is big stories. Big ideas. And I don’t mean they need to be big productions. There are big ideas that are small productions, and others that are mega productions. So, it’s all about ideas. And we’re out there shopping,” he continued.
In 2018, Netflix released its first Arabic original series Jinn, a paranormal tale taking place in Jordan. Just this month, its first Egyptian original series, entitled Paranormal dropped. The series, which stars Lebanese actress Razane Jammal, is based on late Egyptian author Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s successful sci-fi series.
The streaming giant is also fresh off an eight-film deal with Saudi media studio, Telfaz11, which took place a few months after it acquired the streaming rights to a six-part series Six Windows in the Desert.
