The world has “more than 300 million Arabic speakers eager for content that reflects Arab identity and culture”, the head of a major UAE media company told an entertainment industry panel in Cannes last week.
Noura Al Kaabi, the chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi’s media and entertainment industry hub twofour54, made that observation while explaining that Arab film and television – as well as the gaming industry – are growing rapidly. These sectors are still far from the scale of Hollywood or Bollywood, but there is enormous scope for development to feed this region’s significant hunger for content.
Ms Al Kaabi (who also sits on the board of Abu Dhabi Media, which publishes The National) recognised the media potential in the Arabic-speaking world, where the majority of citizens are young, and so members of the demographic cohort most avid to consume media.
Arabic-language content can also find markets far beyond those 300 million Arabic-speakers. Turkish soap operas and movies, for example, are routinely dubbed or subtitled into Arabic and thus find an audience outside the Turkish speaking world. In the same way, hundreds of millions of people across the world who don't speak Arabic are interested in Arab or Muslim culture; they too could be attracted to watch productions from this region. Films about figures or events from Islamic history, for example, would find markets in many countries.
What is required is something of a change in mindset. Just as there is an immense market for Islamic finance and for Islamic tourism, so there is for Islamic entertainment. Media companies have barely scratched the surface – and the UAE is well-positioned to benefit from the opportunity.
There are non-financial benefits too. As Arab-American author Jack Shaheen noted in a lecture at New York University Abu Dhabi two weeks ago, cinema and television can change the worldwide perception of Arab and Muslim people and culture.
Arab culture is unique and has many stories, old and new, that the world’s filmgoers could benefit from viewing. One example is the UAE-made horror film Djinn, which will premiere at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this month.
Arabs are fond of celebrating their culture and history. Film, television and video games are excellent ways to advance that celebration and present our talents to a wider audience.
