DAMASCUS — Breaking a decade-old boycott by
Gulf broadcasters over a diplomatic standoff with the
Damascus government, a
Syrian war drama figures this month on the Ramadan menu of a Saudi-owned
television channel.
اضافة اعلان
Syrian dramas have long been popular across the
region, but since Arab states in the Gulf suspended ties with President
Bashar Al-Assad’s government in 2012, broadcasters in the region have shied away from
Syrian-produced shows, especially those related to war.
Syrian actors, however, have still found their way
on to screens through pan-Arab productions and historical dramas produced by
Gulf networks, such as the popular Bab Al-Harra series. But shows made
exclusively by Syrians were largely shunned.
In a sign of change, the Saudi-owned MBC channel has
started airing a Syrian-made series, “Suspension”, during the
Muslim holy month
of Ramadan – a period that this year started April 2 and during which
viewership peaks across the Middle East.
The Arabic-language show shot outside
Damascus is
“the first social drama made entirely by Syrians to air on a Saudi-owned TV
channel since 2011”, when the country’s war erupted, said director Seif Elsbei.
MBC has yet to respond to a request for comment. But
its decision to air the show comes amid warming ties between Assad and the
United Arab Emirates, a Saudi ally which reopened its embassy in Damascus in
2018.
Last month, Assad visited the UAE, in his first
official trip to an Arab state since the start of the Syrian war.
Soft rapprochement
Although
Riyadh has not
officially restored ties with Assad, many view the latest development on
television screens as a sign of a soft rapprochement.
“Drama has beat politics in the race to renew
relations,” said Badih Sanij, a Syrian journalist and researcher.
“Syrian and Saudi bonds are returning through drama and
the restrictions imposed by politics on art are beginning to ease.”
The Syrian war drama was filmed in the Wadi Barada
suburb of Damascus, a former battleground between rebels and government forces.
Crammed with clips of destruction and despair, the
series revolves around the lives of Syrians who have returned to the area after
years of displacement.
Among the show’s main characters are a man who had
opposition leanings in the early years of the war.
In one scene, security forces interrogate him and
force him to name another opposition sympathizer whom they later arrest.
‘Beginning of the road’
“The return of Syrian social
dramas is a breakthrough,” Elsbei told AFP on the set of the show as children
ran around charred vehicles used as props.
It “ushers in a new way of engaging with Syrian
dramas by TV networks in the Gulf”, Elsbei said.
The series is not airing only on MBC channels, but
also on the popular streaming service Shahid, likewise owned by the MBC group.
The wide exposure
is seen as a boon to
Syria’s war-hit filming industry which has been hit by
dried-up funding and the exodus of major talent, mainly to Egypt and Dubai.
“We suffered greatly from the years-long boycott of
Syrian drama,” said Yamen Alhajali, screenwriter of the series.
“Art should be treated as art,” not as politics, he
said.
For Alhajali, MBC’s popularity guarantees the show a
wide audience.
MBC “is one of the most important platforms in the
Arab world,” he told AFP.
“It has a wide audience and large viewership which
will give the show a rightful reach.”
This Ramadan season, around 20 Syrian shows of
various genres are airing on TV screens at home in Syria as well as across the
region.
For Ahmad Al-Sheikh, the producer of Suspended, this
marks the start of a long road towards recovery.
“Gulf channels are an essential supporter of Arab
drama,” he said.
“We are at the beginning of the road again, and we hope this
drive will continue.”
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