Middle East Powerhouse Cedars Art Production Heading to MipTV With Fresh Slate Driven by Top Ratings on Eight Ramadan Shows (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Beirut-based production powerhouse Cedars Art Productions is having one of its best Ramadan runs ever with eight new series that are all currently scoring stellar ratings during the region’s peak TV season across the Arab world.
The prominent Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region film and TV company – which also has offices in Cairo, Casablanca, and Dubai – is heading to the Cannes MipTV market with a slew of shows, many of which push boundaries in an effort to appeal to a younger generation of Arab viewers.
Case in point is timely drama “Soul Rising” featuring Egyptian star Menna Shalabi as a young woman named Rouh who, in search of her son, winds up captive at an ISIS camp for female fugitives amid fierce fighting in Syria.
This series has been submitted for International Emmy consideration, said Cedars’ president Sadek Anwar Sabbah. Speaking exclusively to Variety, Sabbah pointed out that this year’s Ramadan season, which ends on April 20, is showing a change in the appetite Arab audiences have for TV series. “I see that people are drawn to love stories and suspense and action scenes” he said.
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