09 November 2008
Tarif Sayed, the owner and Managing Director of The Frame, a leading production and post production film and media company based in Dubai, was selected as the first Arab juror for the upcoming 2008 'International Emmy Awards' final round of competition in the documentary film award category.
Sayed was also elected as member of the Academy of Television Arts & Science, the largest organisation of global broadcasters, which includes members from nearly 70 countries and 400 companies, and represents the world's largest production, distribution and broadcast companies.
Sayed said: "As a juror and a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, I have a responsibility towards promoting and strengthening documentary filmmaking in the Arab world, and to link it closer to the global scene. This is my challenge, to make our voice heard."
He added: "To be selected as a juror is proof that we can reach higher skies. I believe that we have a large number of talented Arab filmmakers, producers and directors who should be discovered. Unfortunately, though, most of our media corporations do not invest or believe in this talent."
Only one Arab film, The Invasion or Ijtiyah from Jordan, succeeded in entering the nominations in the new "Telenovela" category, among 40 award nominees in 10 categories from over 16 countries.
His own company, The Frame, which grew from a Dh50,000 company to a million dirham establishment, is still looking towards sponsorships to produce TV documentaries. Sayed said: "We are in the middle of producing two documentary films, and new TV documentary series are on the way. Discover UAE and Sufi Music are among the TV documentary series we are working on now, but we are still looking for financial support from a sponsor or broadcaster to start the production and we look forward for new partnerships."
Sayed said: "I see the UAE becoming the Middle East's one-stop media hub. With the establishment of Abu Dhabi's new media zone initiative called twofour54, Dubai Media City and lately Dubai Studio City, Arab professionals will have the resources they need to excel while raising the quality of Arab media content."
On a different note, Sayed stressed the Arabs' responsibility for correct negative representations of their identity and culture in international media. "Before we start criticising Western documentary filmmakers on making us look bad, I think it's time that we, as Arabs, focus on creating our own content, for we are the only ones who can deconstruct myths about our own culture from inside out. Negative representations of the Arab world, to a certain extent, are no one's responsibility but our own, because we are not active enough in the production of authentic media about this part of the world in order to educate the rest of the world about who we truly are."
Sayed, who holds a degree in acting and directing, started his career in media production in Lebanon in 1992 as a freelancer with local and international broadcasters and production companies. In 1999, he moved to the UAE to join Abu Dhabi TV. In 2001, he decided to return to freelancing in Dubai.
Sayed was positive the documentary film world would continue to be active as far as there are curious and determined people who are ready to travel widely, share information, produce stories and search for the truth.
Tarif Sayed, the owner and Managing Director of The Frame, a leading production and post production film and media company based in Dubai, was selected as the first Arab juror for the upcoming 2008 'International Emmy Awards' final round of competition in the documentary film award category.
Sayed was also elected as member of the Academy of Television Arts & Science, the largest organisation of global broadcasters, which includes members from nearly 70 countries and 400 companies, and represents the world's largest production, distribution and broadcast companies.
Sayed said: "As a juror and a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, I have a responsibility towards promoting and strengthening documentary filmmaking in the Arab world, and to link it closer to the global scene. This is my challenge, to make our voice heard."
He added: "To be selected as a juror is proof that we can reach higher skies. I believe that we have a large number of talented Arab filmmakers, producers and directors who should be discovered. Unfortunately, though, most of our media corporations do not invest or believe in this talent."
Only one Arab film, The Invasion or Ijtiyah from Jordan, succeeded in entering the nominations in the new "Telenovela" category, among 40 award nominees in 10 categories from over 16 countries.
His own company, The Frame, which grew from a Dh50,000 company to a million dirham establishment, is still looking towards sponsorships to produce TV documentaries. Sayed said: "We are in the middle of producing two documentary films, and new TV documentary series are on the way. Discover UAE and Sufi Music are among the TV documentary series we are working on now, but we are still looking for financial support from a sponsor or broadcaster to start the production and we look forward for new partnerships."
Sayed said: "I see the UAE becoming the Middle East's one-stop media hub. With the establishment of Abu Dhabi's new media zone initiative called twofour54, Dubai Media City and lately Dubai Studio City, Arab professionals will have the resources they need to excel while raising the quality of Arab media content."
On a different note, Sayed stressed the Arabs' responsibility for correct negative representations of their identity and culture in international media. "Before we start criticising Western documentary filmmakers on making us look bad, I think it's time that we, as Arabs, focus on creating our own content, for we are the only ones who can deconstruct myths about our own culture from inside out. Negative representations of the Arab world, to a certain extent, are no one's responsibility but our own, because we are not active enough in the production of authentic media about this part of the world in order to educate the rest of the world about who we truly are."
Sayed, who holds a degree in acting and directing, started his career in media production in Lebanon in 1992 as a freelancer with local and international broadcasters and production companies. In 1999, he moved to the UAE to join Abu Dhabi TV. In 2001, he decided to return to freelancing in Dubai.
Sayed was positive the documentary film world would continue to be active as far as there are curious and determined people who are ready to travel widely, share information, produce stories and search for the truth.
By Staff Writer
© Emirates Business 24/7 2008
