Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi's Creative Media Authority (CMA) today announced at a press conference at the production set in Abu Dhabi, a new partnership with Showhouse Production, one of the region's leading production companies, which will encore three significant production projects per year on a rolling basis. In 2025, Showhouse Production will deliver a TV drama series and two feature films which have a combined budget of US$30 million and all will be shot primarily in Abu Dhabi, ensuring key Arabic narratives and entertainment is created from the emirate.
According to Emirates News Agency, the first of the three projects is already underway with the shooting of a new, six-episode TV drama called Misuse. A collaboration with Fingerprint Productions, the production stars actor and producer Eyad Nassar, actress Heidi Karam, and actor Haggag Abdel Azim. Misuse is an anthology series with a fantasy framework which delves into a different topic each episode to explore societal issues such as privacy, social media, love, family, and other challenges faced in daily lives - all through the lens of the misuse of social media and technology.
As part of the agreement, the three annual projects that Showhouse Production shoots in Abu Dhabi will employ 50% production talent from within the CMA's ecosystem - driving additional employment opportunities and economic revenue alongside providing learning and development benefits for the ecosystem including two talent development projects for the wider industry on a specialist production topic and two, six-month paid internships for young Emirati talent on an annual basis.
The CMA will provide a leased office space for Showhouse Productions to base itself from, in the heart of the CMA's operations at the Yas Creative Hub, Abu Dhabi.
Mohamed Dobay, Acting Director General of Creative Media Authority, stated, 'Attracting and supporting regional Arabic production to shoot content in Abu Dhabi is a key aspect in the ongoing development of our film and TV production ecosystem as we remain focused on our mission to become a leading global content hub. Our partnerships deliver on multiple levels - not only securing a robust slate pipeline of productions for our +800 businesses and +1000 talented freelancers to explore but also considering talent development aspects so that young and established talent alike might learn from some of the best Arabic production minds from within the region.'
Shadi Hassan, Producer and CEO of Showhouse Production, commented, 'We are pleased to collaborate with the Creative Media Authority and proud to be a part of the ongoing creative industry transformation underway in Abu Dhabi. We endeavour to maintain and build on our production partnerships including that with Fingerprint Productions; a leader in bringing Arab productions to the Middle East and delivering incredible cinematic works featuring Arab stars. The support of the CMA opens many exciting possibilities and new advantages including the enhanced rebate initiative, a wide variety of filming locations, experienced talent pool, and established production infrastructure - and we look forward to growing the amount of Arabic content created in Abu Dhabi.'
The partnership with Showhouse Productions is one of several key industry collaborations CMA is establishing in order to provide further stimulus across the creative industries of Abu Dhabi, of which the Arabic film and TV production industry is key.