News

Starzplay has announced its first Arabic-language original series, created in collaboration with Emirati content powerhouse Image Nation Abu Dhabi.

The international streaming service of Starz has a big following in the Middle East and North Africa where its regional offering Starzplay Arabia is available in 19 territories.

The new show, called Kaboos, features five standalone episodes and is billed as a modern-day retelling of Arab folklore. It explores urban legends in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and the UAE, across a variety of genres from classic horror stories to noir psychological thrillers.

Some of Mena’s hottest rising young directors are attached to the show, including the UAE’s Majid Al Ansari and Hana Kazim (Makr) as well as Iraq-born, Abu Dhabi-based Yasir Al Yasiri (122), Egypt’s Ahmed Khaled (30 March) and Bahraini, U.S.-based director and producer Hala Matar (Streetcar).

The horror anthology series is produced by Al Yasiri...

Bein Motor Sports Revving Up In Asia

beIN Sports has picked up exclusive rights to the Formula 1 World Championships in ten territories across Asia. The new media rights agreement begins this year and runs until the conclusion of the 2025 championship.

The ten Asian territories included in the agreement are Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Philippines, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. In many territories in Asia, Formula One previously played on the Disney-owned Fox Sports channels.

The new deal includes rights to all Grand Prix races, the new sprint races, qualifying and practice sessions.

Coverage begins with the season opener, in Bahrain from 3-5 March, and runs through to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from 24-26 November.

The coverage will be available on major pay-tv platforms in the region, including on beIN’s live streaming app, beIN Sports Connect.

Storm Warning

Jonas Baur will take the role as executive producer...

The Ambush Trailer — Pierre Morel‘s The Ambush / Al Kameen (2021) movie trailer has been released by Saban Films. The Ambush trailer stars Marwan Abdulla Saleh, Khalifa Al Jassem, Mohammed Ahmed, Mansoor Alfeeli, Khalifa Albahri, and Ibrahim Almusharaakh. Crew Brandon Birtell and Kurtis Birtell wrote the screenplay for The Ambush. “Produced by Derek [...]

Continue reading: The Ambush (2021) Movie Trailer: A Commander Strives to Save His Men in Pierre Morel’s Action Movie...

"How long before backup arrives?" Saban Films has debuted a new US trailer for a "high-octane foreign action film" titled The Ambush, directed by French action filmmaker Pierre Morel - of District B13, Taken, From Paris with Love, The Gunman, and Peppermint previously. It's based on a true story about soldiers from the UAE. In 2018, during the Yemen War, Emirati Armed Forces soldiers based in Mocha are deployed on a mission. In the middle of a routine patrol, they are ambushed in a valley by rebel combatants. Their commander leads a daring mission to rescue them. It was already released last year in the UAE, and will be out in the US this November on VOD. The military action film stars Marwan Abdulla Saleh, Khalifa Al Jassem, Mohammed Ahmed, Mansoor Alfeeli, Khalifa Albahri, & Ibrahim Almusharaakh. This looks like every other American military action movie, just set in the UAE - same uniforms,...

Exclusive: Saban Films has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to AGC International and Image Nation Abu Dhabi’s action picture The Ambush and set an October release for the Emirati production which marks its first non-English language acquisition.

The film, directed by French action maestro Pierre Morel (Taken), is the United Arab Emirates’ most ambitious and theatrically successful production to date. Released at home last November across 185 screens, it went on to become the highest-grossing Arabic-language film ever in the country.

Saban Films is planning a theatrical launch on October 28, ahead of an on-demand and digital release on November 1.

Based on a real-life event, the drama revolves around a daring mission to rescue three UAE soldiers after their armored vehicle is attacked by heavy enemy gunfire and they become trapped in a remote canyon.

The all-Emirati lead cast features Omar Bin Haider, Marwan Abdulla Saleh, Mohammed Ahmed, Mansoor Alfeeli and Khalifa Albahri.

Exclusive: Pierre Morel-directed action movie Al Kameen (The Ambush) has just become the highest-grossing Emirati or Arabic-language film ever in the UAE after posting a mammoth opening weekend relative to the market.

The big-budget movie, which is a co-production between AGC International and Image Nation Abu Dhabi, scored 101,000 cinema admissions between November 25 and November 29, making it the fifth largest opening this year in the UAE, behind only Fast 9, Venom 2, No Time to Die and Godzilla vs Kong. It has logged another 22,000 admissions since then.

Vox Distribution is releasing the movie, which stars an all-Emirati lead cast and was filmed in the UAE.

One of the largest ever Arabic-language features shot in the Gcc, the movie had its world premiere at Vox Cinemas Yas Mall, which was attended by director Morel (Taken), producers Derek Dauchy and Jennifer Roth (Black Swan), and the cast, alongside the...