MBC launches international production division

Dubai-based satellite broadcaster MBC has set up a new UK documentary production and distribution company called O3 Productions, with plans to develop programming specifically for acquisition and coproduction in the international marketplace.

The new division will produce high-end factual programming within a variety of genres, from culture and society to current affairs and history. Programmes in development include So Near, a one-hour doc about the history of the Middle Eastern peace process; The Beat of the Music, about the influence of Eastern music on the west; and Bird's Eye View, profiling the popular sport of falconry in the Middle East.

O3 Productions, under the direction of MBC's Fadi Ismail, will also serve as an acquisitions company, and at Mipcom will be sourcing product from producers worldwide. This will be the responsibility of Badih Fattouh.

On the creative side, the company has award-winning producer/director Bassem Abdallah onboard, who has 25 years' experience in documentary and feature film production within the Middle East, Europe and the US.

O3 has also recently appointed Joanna Langton from Peakviewing Transatlantic as their new international sales and marketing manager. Langton was previously sales manager at TVF International.