While Arab film has reached new heights in recent years, gaining attention at festivals and during award season, major Arab film directors are increasingly bringing their talents to the small screen as well.
From popular shows such as Netflix's Palestinian dramedy Mo to broad comedies such as Only Murders in the Building, filmmakers from the Middle East are thriving no matter the subject matter, exemplifying the creative depth the region has to offer.
With Mo still trending, here are several award-winning filmmakers who have found success in the world of television.
Mohamed Diab
The Egyptian filmmaker received recognition for his work on the Marvel television series Moon Knight, which is primarily set in Egypt. That meant Diab was a great choice for the show which stars Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy.
His directorial career began with the 2010 drama Cairo 6,7,8. The film is about three women who navigate everyday life in the Egyptian capital. In 2016, he directed Clash, a movie set primarily inside a police bus transporting arrested protesters. Clash screened at Cannes Film Festival and competed at the London Film Festival.
Diab has also written for Egyptian television shows, including Tayea and Renegades in 2018.
Amr Salama
Since directing his debut feature film Zayy el-Nahardah in 2006, the Egyptian filmmaker has worked on several different projects, including episodes of Saturday Night Live Arabia and the Netflix original Paranormal.
Salama has directed many celebrated films, the most famous of which are Sheikh Jackson in 2017 and Fireworks in 2023. He also directed three episodes of the comedy crime series Bimbo, starring Ahmed Malek and Wegz.
Karim El-Shinnawi
The Egyptian filmmaker’s latest move, The Tale of Daye's Family, is screening at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. The film constitutes a return to the big screen for El-Shinnawi, who has been directing television shows since 2018.
El-Shinnawi has worked on Egyptian shows such as Take Care of Zizi in 2021 and Seventh Year Itch in 2023. He also directed episodes of the Kuwaiti Netflix original show The Exchange, which returns this year for a second season.
Cherien Dabis
The Palestinian-American filmmaker and actress directed All That's Left of You, which screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. She can also be seen in the second season of the Netflix hit series Mo, playing the sister of the titular main character played by comedian Mo Amer.
Dabis has directed several episodes of hit American shows such as Ozark and Only Murders in the Building. She also directed six episodes of the Arab-American comedy series Ramy. Her first feature film was Amreeka, in 2009, about a Palestinian immigrant mother and her son who relocate to Illinois.
Solvan Naim
The Algerian-American director has an extensive career in directing television shows, including episodes on Power, Snowfall and The Blacklist. More recently, he directed 12 episodes of the Netflix show Mo.
Annemarie Jacir
The Palestinian filmmaker's first feature film was Salt of This Sea in 2008. It follows a woman who needs to return to her ancestral home in Haifa to retrieve her grandfather’s savings. In 2016, she directed The Rendezvous, then followed it up with her most famous film, Wajib.
Starring Mohammad Bakri and Saleh Bakri, Wajib screened at multiple international film festivals, receiving acclaim and recognition from juries and audiences alike. In 2022, Jacir directed an episode in the third season of Ramy.
Majid Al Ansari
The Emirati filmmaker rose to prominence with his feature film debut Zinzana, starring Ali Suliman and Saleh Bakri. Since then, Al Ansari has directed three episodes of the Netflix horror original Paranormal alongside Amr Salama.
In 2023, Al Ansari directed an episode of the Emirati anthology horror series Kaboos. He also served as a producer on the Saudi supernatural romantic film Hwjn.
Ali Selim
The Egyptian-American director has one feature film, Sweet Land, which he directed, wrote and produced. More known for his television work, Selim has directed episodes of hit shows such as Criminal Minds, The Looming Tower, Manhunt and Marvel’s Secret Invasion.
Haifaa Al Mansour
Working on short films between 1997 and 2001, the Saudi filmmaker got her big break with Wadjda in 2012. The film was nominated for Best Film Not in the English Language at the Baftas and won Best Film at the Tromso International Film Festival.
Al Mansour's second feature film was Mary Shelly, a biographical about the writer of Frankenstein. Since then, Al Mansour has directed episodes of many hit television shows including Archive 81, Mayfair Witches, Bosch: Legacy and Fear the Walking Dead.
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
