Beirut-based production powerhouse Cedars Art Productions is not slowing down despite the ongoing Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon.
Sadek Sabbah — who is CEO of the prominent Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region TV and film company that also has offices in Cairo, Casablanca and Dubai — is at Mipcom with a rich slate. Though Cedars Art was meant to be celebrating its 70-year anniversary in Cannes, they are now just taking note of the recurrence. “I don’t want to say ‘celebrating’ due to the chaos that is happening in Lebanon and Palestine,” Sabbah tells Variety.
The Mipcom slate of Cedars Art – which has long been spearheading efforts for Arab shows to gain more international eyeballs – is toplined by “Far Away,” a Turkish adaptation of their hit Arabic show “Al Hayba” about a family of arms smugglers. It marks a milestone of sorts, since Turkey is among the world’s top exporters of TV dramas.
But Sabbah is also proud that Cedars Art recently produced the series “The Last Round,” which became the first Arabic show to drop globally on Amazon Prime Video — even if he’s not pleased with how “Last Round” was promoted. Below, Sabbah shares more about “The Last Round,” “Far Away” and his feelings on the conflict in Lebanon.
Lebanon is currently being bombed. Can you tell me, even just in practical terms, what it’s like for you right now? Are your offices safe? How is this affecting your productions? What is your state of mind?
First of all, I must point out that Cedars Art is a pan-Arabic group. Besides Lebanon, we work in Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Syria. That said, we will shoot one of our upcoming Ramadan series in Lebanon. I think that half of Lebanon is safe. Unfortunately, the other half is under bombardment.
Lebanon has been through so much conflict in the past few decades. Do you have any idea when the bombs might stop?
Whatever the political problems at the root of all this are, I don’t think the Lebanese people deserve what they are going through. I know we have lots of political problems, but I wish that we could tackle them through elections, not through this war because what’s happening has really crushed our hearts. When you have 1.3 million people who have left their homes — and for most of them, their homes have been ruined — it’s sad. But again, we say that every time Lebanon has problem, it stands again. My father, who passed away a few months ago, always said to me: “Lebanon is like a tree that will shake, but will never fall.” I hope that his saying holds up. This is what I’m feeling.
Your hit Arabic show “Al Hayba” is getting a Turkish adaptation, titled “Far Away” in English, that is now in production. How do you feel about managing to get an Arab IP redone by Turkey, which is the world’s biggest scripted TV exporter after the U.S.?
It’s a great honor for us to be bringing a hit Arabic series to the global audience through our Turkish partners. We are keen to attain the same level of success we had with the original “Al-Hayba” in the Turkish version. We’ve worked hard with the partners, with Ay Yapim [among top Turkish TV companies that export shows globally] to identify and transpose the key elements of “Al-Hayba.” It took us more than 10 months of talking and paying visits to each other and looking at the scripts, finding weaknesses and strengths. Of course, we approved putting more Turkish culture in it. But from what I’ve seen, the Turkish talents really have the same body language as our Arabic stars and it just looks great. I think with “Far Away,” we have another success that is a mix between Arabic and Turkish TV this time. This is something very important for our group that is – I don’t want to say celebrating due to the chaos that is happening in Lebanon and Palestine – but I will say marking its 70-year anniversary.
Tell me more about “Far Away.” How far along is the production?
Ay Yapim have finished the first 12 episodes. They’re editing now. We are launching the trailers and the series at Mipcom. It will soon be released by Kanal D in Turkey. Then the international sales will be between us. We have a sort of agreement with Ay Yapim that we will both be trying to get best offers for the international sales. But first we have to wait [to see if it’s a hit].
Speaking of milestones, your series “Al Gawla Al Akhera” (“The Last Round”), in which Egyptian star Ahmed El Sakka plays a former boxer who hops back in the ring, recently became the first Arab show to stream on Amazon Prime Video globally. How did it do?
Yes, for “The Last Round” we had a contract with Amazon. Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t market the series well. But I’m happy that the contract with them was only for one year, which allows us to sell this fantastic nine-episode series during at Mipcom. We already have some offers because Amazon’s rights will expire end of this year. So we are now getting ready for a new channel to air this important series.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
