Page 462 - CABSAT ENGLISH PR REPORT - FEBRUARY to MAY 2023

Highlights from the previous edition of the Co-Production Lounge included Roya TV from Jordan,
Egypt’s T-Vision, Morocco’s Image Factory, and Bright Lens Media from the Eastern Province of
Saudi Arabia as some of the participating companies, while the 2023 instalment will welcome both
Arabic and foreign film content looking to explore opportunities for co-production in long-form
entertainment content, co-funding entertainment content, and commissioning projects for OTT
Originals.

Commenting on her experience of the first-ever Co-Production Salon last year, Katerina
Pshenitsyna, deputy CEO at SMF Animation, one of the global giants in animation production and
distribution, said: “Last year’s event was spot-on. We are still actively looking for real co-production
opportunities in Arabic kids’ content. For the past 80 years our content has been travelling
worldwide, and now that we have an established presence in the Mena region, we look forward to
more content partnerships that develop wonderful stories from this part of the world, for the region
and beyond.”

Speaking in anticipation of this year’s event, Medhat Karam, CEO of Shofha, one of the region’s
fastest-growing OTT platforms, said: “Partnerships and collaborations are an integral part of our
company’s DNA. We sent the full team to attend last year, and we are planning to participate again
this year, with a focus on expanding our partnerships not only in content production, but also rights
sharing with other platforms.

“Our strength lies in our scalability; since we’re already very well-established in important mass
territories like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, we’re able to co-invest with our partners in great quality
content for a fraction of the market price. Also, we’re now rapidly expanding into other territories like
Africa, so economies of scale that we gain will naturally be passed on to our partners. At this
coproduction salon we look forward to meeting with established production houses, platforms, and
potential business partners.”

Heba Korayem, Content Market & Distribution Consultant at HConsult, who will chair the Salon again
this year, spoke highly of the initiative, stating that the previous event saw over 250 quality meetings
take place, with around 30 high-value partnership deals in negotiation during the three-day period.

Korayem added: "I can confidently count that at least half of the business deals discussed have
already been closed. That's pretty good in the Mena region, as it is not unusual for deals to take
several months to finalise. I'm delighted that we are able to offer the opportunities to the right people
that can accelerate the process."

Also expected to participate in this year’s Co-Production Salon are some of the most prominent
platforms and broadcasters, including Shahid, TOD, StarzPlay, VOX, OSN, StarsPlay, E-Vision, and
Saudi Broadcast Corporation, along with noted Arabic content producers from the UAE-based Eagle
Films; Saudi’s Art Format Lab; Cedars Art from Lebanon, and the Egyptian Arpu Plus and United
Media Services. – TradeArabia News Service

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