How is “Netflix” changing the rules of the production game in the Arab world?

Enab Baladi – Yamen of Morocco

The entry of the American network “Netflix” into the Arab production market represented a challenge for the producers of Arab series, with the high level of works produced by the American company and offered exclusively through its digital platform, and its reliance on specific production models.

The challenge lies in the ability of Arab production companies, accustomed to a certain method of work and production, to cope with the series for which the network allocates an enormous budget and enjoys a margin of freedom that overcomes social barriers.

The entry of the controversial American company opened the doors to discussion on the ability of the Syrian and Arab series to take advantage of it to develop their business and spread it beyond the borders of the Arab world.

The entrance hits the Arab production market

The entry of “Netflix” into the Arab market was a surprise for two reasons: the American company did not resort to the Syrian or Egyptian drama, which in recent years has been the cornerstone of the Arab drama, both through single works and in joint works, as the company produced its first Arab series in Jordan. 2019, and bore the name “Jin”.

The second reason is that “Jinn” has sparked a great deal of controversy among followers who have gone beyond the borders of the producing country, Jordan, and moved to various Arab countries, due to the words it contained which followers see as ” without shame “, in addition to the scenes classified as” hot “scenes among the young heroes of work.

Despite the controversy, the company did not stop its production, and in 2019 announced the production of another series entitled “Al Rawabi School for Girls”, followed by the Lebanese series “Dollar” in the same year, and then announced the ‘following year for the “Beyond Nature” series. From a famous series of the same name by the late Egyptian writer Ahmed Khaled Tawfiq, starring the Egyptian actor Ahmed Amin and directed by Omar Salama, both of the leading Egyptian artists of the moment.

In an interview with Enab Baladi, Egyptian film critic Amir Al-Omari believes that the entry of the American company will undoubtedly boost competition with Arab production, thus improving the latter’s productions, which Al-Omari considers positive.

Syrian director Hisham Zaouki stressed that it is logical, in principle, for production to improve in form and content, because the American network has a fixed form and conditions for production related to script, dialogue, filming and all interest in all elements of the series industry, and this leads to the formation of a challenge to Arab drama and Arab producers which motivates them to work on this level.

However, Hisham Zaouki said, in his speech to Enab Baladi, that the production model of the Arab drama is different from any other production in the world and that it has its own financial conditions in addition to the viewer’s opinion, censorship and arguments that it raises, and part of these conditions, methods and privacy are subordinated to the logic of the Arab market and the viewer, and herein lies the main challenge for Arab production companies.

Meanwhile, Syrian director Delir Youssef has indicated that joining “Netflix” could push fiction producers to abandon the Ramadan season and present series with 30 nonsense episodes, just to fill the time, and thus produce intense series and high quality.

Arab countries produce dozens of serial dramas every year for the performance of what is called the “Ramadan season”.

The Syrian drama as a model .. to overcome the crises?

With the entry of “Netflix” into the Arab market, and recently hired by a number of Syrian actors, most notably in his latest series, called “Al-Mina”, and starring Maxim Khalil, Saloum Haddad, Samer Ismail and Lynn Gurra, the question arises of the extent to which the Syrian drama in A Great Crisis on the Production and Technical Front of the existence of “Netflix”.

Netflix had previously hired Syrian director Samer Barqawi to direct the “Dollar” series with Adel Karam and Amal Bouchoucha in 2019.

In the same year, the network also broadcast the series “The Writer”, starring Basil Khayyat and directed by Rami Hanna.

Director Hisham Zaouki believes that the Syrian drama cannot benefit from the “Netflix” network, because the crisis that the Syrian drama is experiencing in the first place is not just a production crisis.

Zaouki added that the Syrian drama suffers from a crisis of society and a political reality, and a crisis of artistic work, directors and writers, and although there are good literal directors in Syria, directing needs a comprehensive strategy. as well as artistic work.

The Syrian director added that “in Syria, actors perform a dialogue in front of the camera within three known soulless scenes. This is due to the fact that directors in Syria work on the principle of craftsmanship, not science, of knowledge and the necessary methodology, and the drama has become only a literal application of the scenario “. However, he does not deny it. There are some good series, according to him.

For the first time since the Gulf cash flow to invest in Syrian drama in the 1990s, only ten Syrian series were shown in the Ramadan rush for the final 2020 season, and this small number, compared to previous years, reflects some aspects of this crisis that the Syrian drama industry is going through.

Art companies in Syria have already produced large numbers in terms of quantity, as 2007 saw the production of 37 series and in 2009, 30 drama series and 22 series were shown in 2011.

In a previous interview with Enab Baladi, Syrian director Ayham Salman said that the Syrian drama is now going through a “different and real” crisis, because it has lost the artistic energies of writers, actors and technicians, both those who have taken a stand at support of the Syrian revolution and those who left Syria to have better job opportunities in Arab countries. In addition to the production crisis, the lack of financial resources to invest in the drama, the absence of the local exhibition market and the inability to shoot serials in Syria for a long time.

Hisham Zaouki linked the current Syrian dramatic crisis with the absence of an “integrated and real team”, as there are only good actors who need directors who know what they want and have the ability to lead the art team, adding that, based on this absence, “I would not be surprised if we saw works reproduced by (Netflix) or others, such as stories, atmospheres and directing method.”

Netflix opens the door to the creation of Arab platforms

With the widespread diffusion of the American network in the Arab world, Arab platforms began to enter the Arab market, so the Saudi platform “Shahid” changed course, and Egypt launched the “Watch It” platform.

The “witness” application was launched in 2011, and was the start of a website belonging to the “MBC” group, before the platform launched an application for tablets and mobile phones.

The application includes a wide range of Arabic series and films and has recently started producing its original and exclusive works, which are mostly Egyptian and Gulf series and films, while the platform has not launched any Syrian series to date. .

As for the “Watch It” application, it belongs to the “Egyptian Media” company, owner of the Egyptian television networks “CBC”, “ON TV” and “Al Hayat”. The company also owns the “Youm Al Sabea” newspaper, as well as several online media sites.

The company launched it to show the latest dramas and movies, in May 2019.

Egyptian film critic Amir Al-Omari believes that the lesson of competition is not just to create Arab platforms, but to be able to produce, monitor huge budgets and use known talent, be they directors, technicians or actors, and more. buy and show series.

Al-Omari pointed out that in general, competition can lead to the emergence of new forms and even other independent experiences.

For his part, director Hisham Zaouki said that the Arab world should give the opportunity to those who truly deserve it, so that they can succeed and have an impact locally and internationally, citing an example of Israeli works produced by ” Netflix “.

Zaouki believes that Israel produced his works in very elaborate and dangerous ways, documenting history from his point of view, adding: “If anyone came to see documentary films about Palestine and Israeli works appeared for him, he would be completely convinced of his. history”.

“Netflix” has produced dozens of Israeli works that tell the latter’s point of view in the conflict with the Arabs, which aroused the anger of the followers of Arab countries.

Zaouki added that the role of “Netflix” in today’s world is Hollywood’s role previously. Compete with each other and succeed in the end.

While Syrian director, Delir Youssef, believes Arab platforms will emerge in the coming days, referring to why the whole world is moving towards alternative platforms for TV channels, and Arab companies will also change their plans to hold the pace with this development, and the “witness” platform is the best proof of this.