Entertainment
Cairo-based film and talent group MAD Solutions has announced a strategic partnership with Egyptian author, screenwriter and producer Haitham Dabbour’s pan-Arab drama development and production company IRTH.
The partnership will bring their complementary strengths together to develop, package and support film, TV drama and other entertainment projects from across the Arab world for regional and international markets.
Launched in 2010 by Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, MAD Solutions is known for its expertise in marketing and distributing Arab films, as well as for looking after Middle East and North African talents under its MAD Celebrity banner. It has also entered international sales in the recent years and as well as getting involved in development and production.
IRTH specializes in the creation and development for all types of drama content – spanning films, TV series, and plays – in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
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The strategic partnership will connect IRTH’s growing development operation and network of writers and creative professionals with MAD Solutions’ regional and international network across distribution and sales, talent management, production, and PR and marketing.
Under the partnership, Mad Solutions and IRTH will develop original films, television series and other formats, including projects built around talent represented by MAD Celebrity.
They will also work with third-party producers and projects requiring development support — from early-stage writing and creative consultancy to rewriting, script doctoring and preparing material for regional and international markets.
“IRTH has always been about bringing strong writers and different Arab voices together and giving ideas the development they need,” said Dabbour. “MAD’s regional and international reach gives us the opportunity to take that work further and open new possibilities for the projects and writers we work with.”
The bestselling author is known for novels including ‘Devoured by Seven Lean Cows’ and ‘Moses Cross’, while his screenwriting credits include El Gouna prizewinner Gunshot and The Tale of Ahl El Daye, which had its European premiere at the Berlinale’s Generation programme.
“Development is a key part of MAD’s regional and international expansion, and IRTH brings a strong creative infrastructure and a diverse network of Arab writers to that strategy. Together, we can originate projects while also offering filmmakers and producers the development support they need to strengthen existing ones,” said Karkouti and Diab.
For MAD Celebrity, the partnership also creates a more direct route between talent management and project creation.
“We don’t only want to find opportunities for our talent; we want to help create them,” said Kareem Samy, executive director of MAD Celebrity. “Working with IRTH allows us to bring talent into the creative process much earlier and develop projects around distinctive voices and capabilities.”
MAD Solutions and IRTH are developing a pipeline spanning original projects, talent-driven projects and third-party development and consultancy assignments, with the first projects from the partnership to be announced separately.
The strategic partnership was announced at the Venice Film Festival, where MAD Solutions has a presence this year as the sales agent for Giornate degli Autori title Al Baraneya and involvement in Conversations with the Sea in the Venice Spotlight section.
MAD will also present its annual award at Final Cut in Venice, marking the 12th year of the company’s support for the development and co-financing program focused on films from Africa and the Arab world through post-production and international industry opportunities.
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Melanie Goodfellow