Egypt and Syria battle for Ramadan audiences

Rivalry for peak Ramadan audiences between the Syrian and Egyptian musalsalat (series) industries took a further twist this year. Industry insiders speak of a Ramadan “brain drain” of Syrian talent to Egypt.

Actors have switched before, most notably Syrian star Jamal Suleiman, who stirred controversy and acclaim alike last Ramadan by playing an Upper Egyptian in the hit drama Hadaiq Ash-Shaytan (The Devil's Gardens). But this year, several directors have followed suit as Suleiman graces another Cairo production, Awlad Al-Layl (Children of the Night), which was directed by Rasha Sharbatji, an esteemed young Syrian director.

Perhaps the most commonly cited proof of a Syrian exodus—or invasion, depending on your standpoint—is King Farouk, dominating prime post-iftar slots on MBC and Orbit. A big budget production (by regional standards) of about 20 million Egyptian pounds ($4 million), the epic follows the turbulent last days of empire and Gamal Abdel-Nasser's 1952 coup. Syrian veteran Hatem Ali directed and his compatriot Taym al-Hassan plays Egypt's last king. Most technical crew of the MBC production were Syrian. Mohammad Azizia, considered a veteran of the Syrian industry despite Jordanian roots, is also directing in Cairo this year.

“This year there are so many Syrians in Egypt doing series—the old competition is no longer just between the countries Syria and Egypt, but now within Egypt, between (Egyptian and Syrian) series, so the competition is getting very close,” says Assad Fouladkar, a Lebanese director who has filmed a Ramadan sitcom in Egypt.

Egypt's distribution machine

Christa Salamandra, an anthropologist writing a book on Syrian musalsalat, says numbers are small but seen as significant in Syria's industry, which prides itself on quality versus Egypt's prolific, star-filled productions. “These are leading Syrian directors using Syrian techniques over there instead of in Syrian series, that's what's causing concern. But there is simply more support and more money in Egypt.”

Syrian director Basil al-Khatib fears this marks a new trend on the part of Gulf channels such as Orbit and MBC of implanting Syrian talent in Egypt and the Gulf, rather than funding fully Syrian productions. “Soon you won't be able to find a good director working in Syria,” he says. Others say the old rivalry over the lucrative Ramadan advertising pie has created hype over nothing. Syrian director Haitham Haqqi says artistic exchanges are healthy. “I went to Egypt the year before last to film Ahlam Fil Bawaba. And guess what? When it was finished I came back!” he says.

But a sense of threat is discernable in Egypt and Syria alike. At the very least, the cross-over of several audience-pulling directors highlights challenges facing Syria's television industry. “They have funding, we're having a capital-flow crisis,” says Director Laith Hajjo, simply.

Last year Syria produced upwards of 45 musalsalat, this year, directors put the figure at less than half that, with estimates ranging between 15 and 20. About half of last year's prolific output found no buyers, local observers say and last year's low profits have necessitated some belt-tightening.

Fouladkar is among many directors who point out the draw of Egyptian's government-led distribution machine. His 2002 Lebanon-based film When Maryam Spoke Out (Lamma Hikyit Maryam) won critical acclaim abroad. But, he says, being based in Lebanon meant Arab-world distribution for the US production eluded him. “I imagine if it was an Egyptian film it would have been distributed everywhere. This is the place to do things for the whole Arab world.”

Egyptian officials use Egyptian ties to the Gulf to promote musalsalat as a national export. The Syrian government has yet to provide such support to help its industry reach Arab channels.

Isolating Damascus

Furthermore, some directors believe Syrian musalsalat sales were damaged by Arab official isolation of Damascus after President Bashar al-Assad called those who refused to side with Hezballah in the July 2006 war “half-men”. This summer's diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia and Syria may also make a difference, though perhaps not in time for Ramadan.

“Advertising agencies that find sponsors don't need Syrian drama this year, they're concentrating on Gulf and Egyptian productions,” says leading Syrian director Najdat Anzour. “In my opinion, it's indirectly for political reasons.”

Damascus's cool relations with Washington's Arab allies has not stopped Gulf channels buying and co-producing several series by top Syrian directors. But it might trim the competitive edge of less prestigious series vying with the prolific Egypt—which has produced more than 50 this year - as well as growing Gulf production.

“Our aim is always the Gulf channels, and now the Gulf is producing and giving priority to its own productions,” director Laith Hajjo says. “So the demand for productions from outside is less—the priority is the Gulf, then Egyptian, and last of all Syrian.”

A growing Gulf

Gulf-based TV networks such as MBC, Orbit and Dubai continued to dominate the market this year, nudging the Egyptian and Syrian states further into the margins. MBC says it was the most watched channel last year, showing 9 out of 10 top-rated programmes. MBC's Tash Ma Tash comedy series—which the channel says drew 50 percent of audiences last Ramadan—is running again, with sponsorship rates of $1.5 million. MBC and Orbit are both airing King Farouk.

Dubai Television funded several major Egyptian productions and upped its investment in production by 15 percent this year, according to Ali Rumaithy, Dubai TV's channel manager. Egyptian and Syrian directors' fears that these pillars of Ramadan production will retain more of the revenue within their native Gulf region look likely to come true. Khatib said Sama Dubai was to start airing only Gulf productions, but the station declined comment.

Rumaithy said change was due at Dubai TV. “Our new strategy is to invest in production in Dubai. We'd like to see our city on the screen more,” he says. “Starting after Ramadan, we'll be spending 30-35 percent of our budget in Dubai.”

The 50 odd musalsalat produced by Egypt's state-dominated industry are not all likely to make it on to Ramadan screens. Last year, the Egyptian Radio and Television Union told MEB Journal that its new chairman, Sayed Hilmy, had planned to tackle complaints that Egyptian productions are big on stars but thin on substance. Mohsen Hosni, Egypt correspondent for As-Safir newspaper's cultural page, says the results are expected this Ramadan. “Sayed Hilmi did reform a lot when he took over, because he tried to filter out a lot of the obvious corruption, which was having a negative effect on the level of work,” he says.

Youssef Osman, ERTU's head of production, said the focus had been on quality this year for the 15 state-produced series. “The basis of good work is the script and this year we've had a panel of experts focusing on choosing good ones,” he said.

Ones to watch

Despite its fears, Syria retains strong cards. One drama guaranteed to exercise commentators is the latest offering from Anzour, who explored Islamic extremism in his 2005 Beautiful Virgins and last year's Renegades. This year he's set The Roof of the World (an old Arabic name for Scandinavia) against the Danish cartoons scandal of February 2006.

Using archive footage of rioters besieging Scandinavian embassies in Beirut and Damascus, the film portrays an Arab woman studying in Denmark when newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that were deemed insulting and led to violent riots across the region. “The reaction to these cartoons in the Islamic world was very bad, now we're re-representing our prophet to the West,” says Anzour.

Interwoven is the subject of the woman's PhD thesis—the historical story of Ahmed Ibn Fadlan. Ibn Fadlan, whom Antonio Banderas portrayed in the film “The 13th Warrior”, was an Abbasid courtier from golden-age Baghdad who travelled to Denmark with a band of Vikings. Judging by the promo, the quality of the $2 million production promises to be high.

Industry insiders also expect great things from Syrian director Basil Khatib's Letters of Love and War, which spans the decades between Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and ends with last summer's July War between Israel and Hezballah. The production, by leading private production company As-Souriya al-Dawliya (Syria International) is said to have a strong script, penned by top writer Reem Hanna.

“It's about both personal and wider wars, how ordinary people leading ordinary lives deal with the complicated historical circumstances they find themselves in,” Khatib says.

Meanwhile Syria's Haqqi has stayed out of the director's chair to oversee production of three dramas funded by Orbit. Two are Damascene social dramas, one historical, one contemporary. Zaman al Khawf (The Time of Fear), however, spans Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 to the Gulf War and is directed by his daughter, Inas Haqqi.

Viewers (and advertisers) looking to Egypt for a Ramadan diet of big stars will not be disappointed. Hollywood legend Omar Sharif adds to the pantheon this year in his first musalsal, Hanan wa Haneen. Egyptian actor Nour El-Sherif stars in Al Daly as a fictional businessman of that name. And Ramadan favourite, Yehya Fakharani stars in Yitraba Fi Izzo. Egyptian diva Youssra—another Ramadan staple—will star in Qadiyat Rai Aam. Another to look out for will be renowned scriptwriter Anwar Osama Okasha's Al-Masrawiya.

Hot on the heels of the hit Egyptian film, The Yacoubian Building is downsizing to the small screen, but may not be ready in time for Ramadan. It remains to be seen whether the musalsal directed by Ahmed Saqr will have the power of Alaa Al Aswaany's bestselling novel, however. Reportedly, controversial characters such as the gay journalist have been toned down for holy month viewing.

Finally, the sitcom from Lebanon's Fouladkar, Rajul wa Sit Sittat (A Man and Six Women) already has a second series in the can. Fouladkar says he imported techniques from his experience in Australian sitcoms to a genre still little explored in the Arab world. The plot, though, is anchored in Egyptian culture: the day-dreaming hero's peace is shattered when his female relatives move in - cue the mother-in-law jokes. n