Six TV series from the Middle East and Gulf region are being showcased at this week’s online Qumra event. The creators are participating in a series of mentorship sessions, roundtables, networking and individual one-to-ones.
Dubai-based film veteran Mo Yusuf is taking part with limited series Out Of My Mind. Yusuf has written Arabic and English- language commercials, television and films, including Rashid & Raj (2019) and Shahid Plus comedy Karim-O-Phobia, and is moving into the director’s chair for the first time with the TV project
“The show is autobiographical — ish,” explains Yusuf, of the story of a struggling Somali writer — also named Mo — attempting to become a stand-up comedian in Dubai.
Struggling with depression after the loss of his mother, Yusuf fought his way out and “found my true calling. I learned self-love. The show is a funny take on how to find your true self.”
Produced by London-born, Middle East-based producer Greg Sinclair, with whom Yusuf has previously worked on commercial projects, Out Of My Mind has received backing from the Doha Film Institute, and is searching for distribution, financing and sales agents. “I’m going with an open mind and an open heart, and mostly to learn,” says Yusuf of the Qumra experience. “It definitely presents opportunities for someone like me, a Somali comedian in Dubai who is now getting one-one-on meetings with execs from Sony, Lionsgate, HBO, AMC and more.”
Also inspired by its creator’s own experiences is Under The Roof, a drama series from Lebanese writer/director Arreej Mahmoud, who has written and produced a number of shorts including The Heir, part of Emmy-nominated Shahid series Beirut-6:07. Drawing on Mahmoud’s own childhood during the peak of the Lebanese civil war, Under The Roof tells of an elderly woman who attempts to assassinate a presidential candidate.
Produced by Mahmoud and Davina Atallah through the pair’s outfit Studio Hambaba, the project is supported by a development grant from the Doha Film Institute and the team is looking for further development funds along with international and Middle Eastern production and distribution partners.
Intimate stories
Personal circumstance is also central to Yasmine/Jasmine, a one-hour limited drama series being developed by Morocco-US writer/director Yossera Bouchtia, whose previous shorts have been screened at international festivals. Yasmine/Jasmine, which tells of a grieving immigrant woman visited by her own doppelgänger, has been selected by Cine Qua Non Lab’s Storylines 2020, Torino Film Lab’s Next TV 2021 and the 2021 Gotham TV Series Lab. It is inspired by Bouchita’s own experiences of moving from Morocco to America as a child. She is now looking for a producer and production partners.
Days Off, from Franco-Algerian writer/director Lina Lamara, moves away from the overtly political to present a study of rest and relaxation across multiple countries. In development for two years, the first season of this documentary series talks to people enjoying their days off in Paris, Casablanca and Doha. Budgeted at $700,000, it is in search of producers, distributors and broadcasters.
Lamara has previous made three short films which have played in international festivals, has written theatrical plays and is in development on another production with UGC Series.
Qatar-based Aisha Al-Jaidah and Kholoud Ali Ali’s Traditional Qatari Songs will blend colourful animation with traditional children’s music to help introduce these songs to a new generation, and preserve them for the future. Made through Al-Jaidah and Ali Ali’s own Blue Penguin Animation, the project is at Qumra looking for financing, sales agents and distributors.
The final project in the line up is anthology musical horror series Why Did The Bluesman Cross The Road?, an eight-hour series set in Deaborn, Michigan, home to the largest Arab-American community in the US. It follows pair of immigrant mechanics whose dreams of becoming bluesmen are soon derailed by rivalry. Its Lebanese writer/director is Meedo Taha, whose shorts The Strength of God (2015) and The Incident (2017) have played at international film festivals.
“The idea was born from our own story as immigrants,” says Taha, who was born in Beirut, raised in London and educated in Tokyo and Los Angeles. “We’re surrounded by artists who work various jobs while pursuing their real dreams. With this project, we hope to collaborate with Arab storytellers from a wide range of ethnicities, religions and cultures.”
Why Did The Bluesmen…? is co-created and produced by Los Angeles-based Samira Ghoul and the project, which is budgeted at $400,000 per episode, is now in search of creative, as well as financial, support.
“We’re looking to partner with an experienced executive producer and production house to set up a writers room and collaborate with artists, writers and musicians from our community and beyond,” confirms Taha. “Qumra is special because it brings together the Arab and international film industries to exchange ideas and form lasting creative friendships,” he says. “Music and television are inclusive by nature, and Qumra nurtures and celebrates inclusivity. We feel welcome. We feel at home.”
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