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Arab TV: Time for Talent to Shine?
22 Oct
Summary
- New CineGouna Series program supports Arab television talent.
- Focus on time and marketing needed for series development.
- Industry faces challenges with limited buyers and piracy issues.
Mariam Naoum leads CineGouna Series, El Gouna Film Festival's new television development program. This initiative aims to address obstacles faced by creative talent in Arab television, prioritizing time and marketing for project development. The six-week lab incubated six projects, supporting writers in creating series bibles and pilots before pitching them to industry professionals.
Industry experts like Haitham Dabbour and Mariam Abou Ouf highlight challenges such as limited platform buyers and piracy, which stifle risk-taking and project diversity. Abou Ouf also notes the transformative impact of streaming, extending a series' life beyond its initial broadcast. Naoum believes culturally rooted stories can travel if distribution know-how is improved.
The CineGouna Series lab specifically targets emerging writers, fostering networking and industry connections. The program acts as a bridge, helping platforms discover vetted projects and shortening their development scouting process.
