While Arab film has reached new heights in recent years, gaining attention at festivals and during award season, major Arab film directors are increasingly bringing their talents to the small screen as well.
From popular shows such as Netflix's Palestinian dramedy Mo to broad comedies such as Only Murders in the Building, filmmakers from the Middle East are thriving no matter the subject matter, exemplifying the creative depth the region has to offer.
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight's new show, House of Guinness, coming to Netflix in September, is the latest to have an Arab filmmaker behind the camera.
Here are several award-winning filmmakers who have found success in the world of television.
Mounia Akl
Lebanese filmmaker Mounia Akl will be directing three episodes of the upcoming Netflix series House of Guinness. Created by Steven Knight, who is set to write the next James Bond film, it follows the children of brewery mogul Sir Benjamin Guinness and their struggle for control of their father's fortune.
Akl previously worked on the British television shows Boiling Point and The Responder, both of which were nominated for Bafta awards. Prior to her move to television, Akl directed Costa Brava, Lebanon in 2021, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival. The film went on to screen at multiple international festivals, including Toronto and London.
In 2016, Akl's short film Submarine was in consideration for the Cinefondation Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The 21-minute short film was a commentary on the garbage crisis in Lebanon.
Mohamed Diab
The Egyptian filmmaker received recognition for his work on the Marvel television series Moon Knight, which is primarily set in Egypt. That meant Diab was a great choice for the show which stars Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy.
His directorial career began with the 2010 drama Cairo 6,7,8. The film is about three women who navigate everyday life in the Egyptian capital. In 2016, he directed Clash, a movie set primarily inside a police bus transporting arrested protesters. Clash screened at Cannes Film Festival and competed at the London Film Festival.
Diab has also written for Egyptian television shows, including Tayea and Renegades in 2018.
Amr Salama
Since directing his debut feature film Zayy el-Nahardah in 2006, the Egyptian filmmaker has worked on several different projects, including episodes of Saturday Night Live Arabia and the Netflix original Paranormal.
Salama has directed many celebrated films, the most famous of which are Sheikh Jackson in 2017 and Fireworks in 2023. He also directed three episodes of the comedy crime series Bimbo, starring Ahmed Malek and Wegz.
Karim El-Shinnawi
The Egyptian filmmaker’s latest move, The Tale of Daye's Family, is screening at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. The film constitutes a return to the big screen for El-Shinnawi, who has been directing television shows since 2018.
El-Shinnawi has worked on Egyptian shows such as Take Care of Zizi in 2021 and Seventh Year Itch in 2023. He also directed episodes of the Kuwaiti Netflix original show The Exchange, which returns this year for a second season.
Cherien Dabis
The Palestinian-American filmmaker and actress directed All That's Left of You, which screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. She can also be seen in the second season of the Netflix hit series Mo, playing the sister of the titular main character played by comedian Mo Amer.
Dabis has directed several episodes of hit American shows such as Ozark and Only Murders in the Building. She also directed six episodes of the Arab-American comedy series Ramy. Her first feature film was Amreeka, in 2009, about a Palestinian immigrant mother and her son who relocate to Illinois.
Solvan Naim
The Algerian-American director has an extensive career in directing television shows, including episodes on Power, Snowfall and The Blacklist. More recently, he directed 12 episodes of the Netflix show Mo.
Annemarie Jacir
The Palestinian filmmaker's first feature film was Salt of This Sea in 2008. It follows a woman who needs to return to her ancestral home in Haifa to retrieve her grandfather’s savings. In 2016, she directed The Rendezvous, then followed it up with her most famous film, Wajib.
Starring Mohammad Bakri and Saleh Bakri, Wajib screened at multiple international film festivals, receiving acclaim and recognition from juries and audiences alike. In 2022, Jacir directed an episode in the third season of Ramy.
Majid Al Ansari
The Emirati filmmaker rose to prominence with his feature film debut Zinzana, starring Ali Suliman and Saleh Bakri. Since then, Al Ansari has directed three episodes of the Netflix horror original Paranormal alongside Amr Salama.
In 2023, Al Ansari directed an episode of the Emirati anthology horror series Kaboos. He also served as a producer on the Saudi supernatural romantic film Hwjn.
Ali Selim
The Egyptian-American director has one feature film, Sweet Land, which he directed, wrote and produced. More known for his television work, Selim has directed episodes of hit shows such as Criminal Minds, The Looming Tower, Manhunt and Marvel’s Secret Invasion.
Haifaa Al Mansour
Working on short films between 1997 and 2001, the Saudi filmmaker got her big break with Wadjda in 2012. The film was nominated for Best Film Not in the English Language at the Baftas and won Best Film at the Tromso International Film Festival.
Al Mansour's second feature film was Mary Shelly, a biographical about the writer of Frankenstein. Since then, Al Mansour has directed episodes of many hit television shows including Archive 81, Mayfair Witches, Bosch: Legacy and Fear the Walking Dead.
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Alan%20Wake%20Remastered%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERemedy%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Microsoft%20Game%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%204%20%26amp%3B%205%2C%20Xbox%3A%20360%20%26amp%3B%20One%20%26amp%3B%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20Nintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
%3Cp%3E1984%20-%20Apple%20unveiled%20the%20Macintosh%20on%20January%2024%3Cbr%3E1985%20-%20Steve%20Jobs%20departed%20from%20Apple%20and%20established%20NeXT%3Cbr%3E1986%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20Macintosh%20Plus%2C%20featuring%20enhanced%20memory%3Cbr%3E1987%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20Macintosh%20II%2C%20equipped%20with%20colour%20capabilities%3Cbr%3E1989%20-%20The%20widely%20acclaimed%20Macintosh%20SE%2F30%20made%20its%20debut%3Cbr%3E1994%20-%20Apple%20presented%20the%20Power%20Macintosh%3Cbr%3E1996%20-%20The%20Macintosh%20System%20Software%20OS%20underwent%20a%20rebranding%20as%20Mac%20OS%3Cbr%3E2001%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20Mac%20OS%20X%2C%20marrying%20Unix%20stability%20with%20a%20user-friendly%20interface%3Cbr%3E2006%20-%20Apple%20adopted%20Intel%20processors%20in%20MacBook%20Pro%20laptops%3Cbr%3E2008%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20MacBook%20Air%2C%20a%20lightweight%20laptop%3Cbr%3E2012%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20MacBook%20Pro%20with%20a%20retina%20display%3Cbr%3E2016%20-%20The%20Mac%20operating%20system%20underwent%20rebranding%20as%20macOS%3Cbr%3E2020%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20M1%20chip%20for%20Macs%2C%20combining%20high%20performance%20and%20energy%20efficiency%3Cbr%3E2022%20-%20The%20M2%20chip%20was%20announced%3Cbr%3E2023%20-The%20M3%20line-up%20of%20chip%20was%20announced%20to%20improve%20performance%20and%20add%20new%20capabilities%20for%20Mac.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
