Arab Stars of Tomorrow 2023: Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha, director (Jordan)

Jerusalem-born, Amman-based Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha focuses on creating entertainment with social impact through Digitales Media, the company she co-founded with husband and producing partner Shadi Sharaiha. The animation studio aims to inspire, entertain and educate.

After moving back to Amman with her family at the age of two, Madanat Sharaiha graduated from university and worked with international NGOs until 1998, when she began freelancing on film sets. It was here she found her passion for telling compelling stories from the point of view of an Arab woman.

In 2016, Madanat Sharaiha went on to direct her first short film — the award-winning Noor — which explores motherhood and loss. She also directed the 2016 short animation Our Family Life. “A very short film that turned into a series on YouTube,” she explains.

Twelve people worked on that project, which led to Abu Sanad’s Family, an on­going web series that tackles taboo subjects in the hope of sparking conversation. With more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube, the series has won several awards and Digitales Media now employs more than 100 people around the world.

Madanat Sharaiha then moved on to feature-­length animation with Saleem, which was the first Jordanian selection to play Annecy International Animation Film Festival, competing in this year’s Contre­champ Competition. Saleem tells the story of a refugee who loses his father.

At such a heartbreaking time for the region — which Madanat Sharaiha describes as a “humanitarian catastrophe” — she notes that “animation provides a way to address issues with a universal impact”.

At Digitales Media, the couple would like to target voice talent including Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Egyptian actor Maged El Kedwany because, they say, they “like people with purpose”.

Contact: Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha, Digitales Media 

• Arab Stars of Tomorrow 2023 full list