Beta Film, O3 team for Arab-Euro dramas

MIPTV: German producer and distributor Beta Film and Middle Eastern prodco O3 Productions have embarked on a multi-series development partnership to coproduce drama series to bridge the Arab and European worlds.

Moritz von Kruedener

Under the agreement, MBC-owned O3 will develop projects in MENA that have a European angle. It also marks the first major European partnership for Dubai-based O3, which has production arms in Cairo and Istanbul. The firm’s most recent series is Islamic State-themed drama Black Crows.

A number of as-yet-untitled series are already in development, including a crime series set in both Iraq and Scandinavia; a thriller about the organised crime links between Germany and Lebanon; an Italian-set post-World War II project that charts the rise of a global narcotics trade linking the Middle East, Europe and America; and a Cairo-based drama about the long-standing international espionage rivalry between the main global powers.

Last year Fadi Ismail, group director of O3 Productions, told C21 coproductions would help open up “bigger ideas and ambitions,” with a European copro partner among the targets to “open more doors.”

“We are proud to be pioneering a unique collaboration that will combine creative talent from the Arab and European regions and bring fresh, original programming to the global market,” Ismail said of the latest deal. “We believe we can bring audiences around the world compelling new stories from a region that has all too often been misrepresented.”

Beta Film MD Moritz von Kruedener added: “Our partnership will mark a big step in bringing the incredible creative talent of the Arab world to an international audience. This cooperation introduces fresh ideas of the MENA region to our European partners and combines the production potential of both areas.”

Earlier this week at MipTV it was revealed that Beta Film had linked up with Austria’s Red Bull to produce a series of interconnected, big-budget football-related dramas under the overall title The Net.

The German firm has also secured more distribution deals for its crime drama Babylon Berlin at this week’s Cannes market. M-Net, the South Africa-based pay TV outfit, and India’s Tata Sky, a joint venture between Tata Sons and 21st Century Fox, have both picked up the series, taking the number of territories it has sold to past 90.