AMMAN —
Netflix, the streaming giant delivering hundreds of
TV shows and movies to the comfort of your home, recently announced it is
expanding into a crucial market — Arabic language content.
اضافة اعلان
With a combination of both original content made specifically
for the streaming platform and Arabic classics, the service provides a wealth
of Arabic series and films for every viewer, the company said in a statement
sent to Jordan News. Netflix programming is available in over 190 countries
across the world, with over 204 million paid subscribers.
As part of this expansion, the company said that interested
fans hoping to support local Jordanian production should keep their eyes peeled
for a women-led Jordanian TV show that will be released this summer. The show,
called “Al Rawabi School for Girls,” features an all-female cast and crew.
Jordanian producer, director, writer, and comedy actress Tima Shomali wrote and
directed the series, which is one of Netflix’s first Arabic original series. It
will tell the story of a bullied school girl on a quest for revenge against her
bullies.
Previously, Netflix has debuted the Arabic original series
“
Jinn,” which was also produced in Jordan, and “Paranormal,” a
supernatural-horror Egyptian series which features a hematologist who
unwillingly gets drawn into the world of supernatural investigations.
Netflix’s Middle Eastern content has also proven popular
outside of the region, according to the statement. The documentary “Secrets of
the Saqqara Tomb,” which follows a team of Egyptian archaeologists who
discovered a tomb from the 25th century BC. The film was viewed by 22 million
households in the first four weeks after its release, making it one of the top
5 documentary films in Netflix’s history.
In addition to new original series, viewers can also dip
into the golden era of Arabic cinema through a special collection called
“Arabic Nostalgia,” featuring classic Arabic films, including the works of
actors Adel Imam, Abdulhussain Abdulredha, Saeed Saleh, Younis Shalabi, Ahmad
Zaki, and Hasan Mustafa.
Netflix has also made efforts to make all of its original
content accessible to an Arabic-speaking audience, which is expansive, the statement said, adding that over 400
million people around the world speak Arabic.
All of this comes as the company seeks to solidify its
presence in emerging markets, according to a New York Times article published
in April of this year, which said the majority of the company’s revenue now
comes from such places.
In its statement, company added that it has also taken an
effort to combat hardship in the Arab world in collaboration with the Arab Fund
for Arts & Culture. Netflix established the Lebanon Hardship Fund, which
has a $500,000 budget to help crew, craftspeople, and freelancers in the film and
television industry in Lebanon affected by
COVID-19 and the Beirut port
explosion.
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