Dubai Management Co. Untamed Talent Launches With A.B. Shawky & Amjad Al Rasheed Among Directors On Inaugural Client List – Red Sea Film Festival
01.12.2023 - 15:42
/ deadline.com
Former Mister Smith sales executive Antone Saliba has launched management and production company Untamed Talent, with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions.
The latter company, which is a joint venture of leading Middle East distribution companies Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment, will provide capital and strategic value for the new banner.
Saliba, who was a sales and acquisitions executive under David Garrett at Mister Smith, wants to create new content business models for the fast-growing entertainment sectors of the SWANA region, covering Southwest Asia and North Africa.
As well as representing filmmakers from the established MENA industry hubs of Egypt and Saudi, the new company will also identify, develop, and promote talent from traditionally underrepresented countries within the region such as Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey and Iran.
The company will work on a non-exclusive basis with production and distribution parties in the region, as well as U.S. and international studios and streamers.
The inaugural client list features Egypt’s Abu Bakr Shawky (Yomeddine, Hajjan); Jordan’s Bassel Ghandour (The Alleys), Amjad Al Rasheed (Inshallah A Boy) and Faris Alrjoob (The Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry); Palestine’s Firas Khoury (Alam) as well as Palestinian-Jordanian filmmaker Yassmina Karajah (Rupture, The Sand Castle) and Syrian creator and writer Mayar Al Nouri.
The announcement was made on the fringes of Saudi Arabia‘s Red Sea International Film Festival, where Shawky’s Hajjan and Al Rasheed’s Inshallah A Boy, which is Jordan’s Oscar entry, are playing in the program.
“At Untamed, we’re combining our understanding of local languages, cultures and stories, with a deep