Untamed Talent, a new management and production company led by former Mister Smith Entertainment executive Antone Saliba, has launched with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions and unveiled its first roster of clients.
The firm will represent filmmakers from the established Middle East industry hubs of Egypt and Saudi as well as promoting talent from more underrepresented countries in South West Asia and North Africa such as Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Iran.
Front Row Productions, a joint venture of leading Middle East distribution companies Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment, will “provide capital and strategic value” to Untamed Talent.
Its initial client roster of award-winning writers and directors includes Abu Bakr Shawky, whose feature Hajjan premiered at Toronto and plays Red Sea this week; Bassel Ghandour, the Oscar-nominated writer and producer of Theeb, and director of Locarno 2021 title The Alleys; Amjad Al Rasheed, whose debut Inshallah A Boy became the first feature from Jordan to premiere at Cannes and plays in competition at this year’s Red Sea; and Firas Khoury, whose debut feature film Alam premiered at Toronto in 2022.
Further clients include Yassmina Karajah, co-writer of upcoming Front Row-produced feature The Sand Castle starring Nadine Labaki; Faris Alrjoob, whose film The Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry became the first short from Jordan to premiere at Cannes; and Mayar Al Nouri, creator, writer, and director of an upcoming Arabic language series. Additional talent from the wider region will be named in the coming months.
The company will work on a non-exclusive basis with all production and distribution parties in the region, as well as US and international studios and streamers in a bid to maximise opportunities for its clients.
Jordan-born Saliba was previously sales and acquisitions executive at UK firm Mister Smith Entertainment, from where he recently stepped down and was replaced by Augusta Charlton. At Mister Smith, Saliba worked with US and European producers, agents, and financiers, alongside his role in licensing films internationally including Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life, Apple+ Original The Banker, Oscar-nominated To Leslie, and recent Toronto premiere Ezra, starring Robert De Niro and Bobby Cannavale.
Saliba said: “[South West Asia and North Africa] filmmakers have previously had to rely solely on the support on European co-production funding and festival selection to find new audiences. Our vision is to fundamentally influence the regional infrastructure and strengthen relationships with international studios, to help filmmakers find additional opportunities to express their unique creative vision. We believe this will allow them to reach wider audiences on a global scale.”
“With the local theatrical and digital market expanding, there is a concrete need for such a venture in order to foster new local talent and compete with the increasingly sophisticated western content audiences are consuming,” said Front Row CEO Gianluca Chakra. “Untamed Talent fills a gap in the local and broader market… and will be instrumental in illuminating untapped opportunities. The key to unlocking them is in championing our deeply diverse SWANA creative talent pool to promote fresh and exciting new voices.”
The backing by Front Row follows a recent push into production by the leading MENA distributor. Its debut Perfect Strangers was picked up by Netflix as the streamer’s first Arabic original feature and topped the platform’s most-viewed charts in 2022 in many countries in the region including Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Upcoming titles include Matty Brown’s The Sand Castle and an Arabic-language remake of Intouchables, which will film in Egypt.
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