CAIRO - 24 April 2021: Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Rocket Science’s Middle East based YALLA YALLA has attached Oscar-winning writer/director Terry George and acclaimed Egyptian writer Mariam Naoum to co-write the serial killer series “The Alexandria Killings”.
The show will be produced by Gianluca Chakra, Thorsten Schumacher, and Terry George.
Set in 1920 Alexandria when Egypt was under British rule, the series will chronicle the true story of Egyptian sisters Raya and Sakina.
The sisters came from a poor Alexandria neighborhood and rose from poverty to run a glamorous brothel operation, drawing on a powerful and influential circle of Egyptian and British officers, informants, and statesmen.
At its’ heights, the Hammams’ operation became a hive of secrets, intelligence sharing, and criminal conspiracies among the top echelons of the Alexandria underworld.
The rise and fall of their empire found the sisters relying more and more on petty theft, leading to the murder of 17 women in crimes of opportunity.
The sisters were eventually put on trial and became the first women to be sentenced to death, causing a massive social outcry.
Public perception of the women varied from cold-blooded criminal masterminds to victims.
The show will form the first part of a MENA-based true crime anthology series set in various periods and locations within the Arab world.
The series will be shot predominantly in Arabic with English to reflect the British rule, exploring the complexities of life on the fringes of a male-dominated society.
George’s previous works scrutinizes Colonial rule in its’ various forms, whilst Naoum has profound knowledge of the patriarchal Arab society and the struggle of women within the system, allowing for a unique common vision for the show.
Terry George’s previous works include the Oscar-nominated ‘Hotel Rwanda’ and ‘In The Name of The Father’.
Mariam Naoum’s ‘Between Two Seas’ and ‘One-Zero’ were critically acclaimed projects for film and TV.
Naoum’s endeavors to change the conditions by which women are perceived in her native Egypt are a key driving factor throughout her career along with her various social activism campaigns, earning her recognition by UN Women Egypt on International Women’s Day in 2016.
“I look forward to collaborating with a truly international team of talented producers and story tellers to investigate the remarkable true story of the Hamman sisters” showrunner Terry George says “I am particularly delighted to be working with renowned Egyptian writer Mariam Naoum to tackle subject matter that while containing all the captivating elements of a legendary crime also encompasses global themes of sexism, jealousy, greed and lost love. This will be a thrilling and entertaining journey.”
Co-writer Mariam Naoum adds “I’m very enthusiastic about being a part of this project, and I feel lucky to be working with Terry George and Front Row. At this point of my career, I really believe that merging the experiences of the middle eastern and western filmmakers is crucial for the industry of filmmaking and it will help perfect the adaptation of the story.
And I’m sure that I’ll also be learning a lot during this journey.”
Front Row & Yalla Yalla CEO Gianluca Chakra stated: “We are really proud and excited to be working with amazing talent like Terry and Mariam” adding “We see Terry and Mariam forming a strong synergy with their experiences tackling these complex and interesting subject matters; Terry’s impactful, Award winning work in landmark Award winning productions and Mariam’s powerful resume in Arabic film and TV are a perfect match for The Alexandria Killings.” Chakra continues “the societal exploration underpinning the murders is unique in that the world has not seen anything of this scale from the Arab world. We’re really looking forward to it.”
“The Alexandria Killings” will be executive produced by Hisham AlGhanim, Michela Scolari, who is represented by Larry Hummel and Nayla Al Khaja, who is represented by Adel Nur.
The show is the first in a MENA based true-crime anthology series through various periods and countries within the Arab world.
Yalla Yalla is a MENA film and TV development and production company headquartered in Dubai.
Founded by Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Rocket Science, Yalla Yalla will become the leading Arabic language producer of filmed entertainment for local markets, the global Arabic speaking diaspora and western audiences that consume foreign language content.
The company is currently working on the Arabic adaptation of the worldwide box office hit “Intouchables”.
Front Row Filmed Entertainment is a leading independent film distribution company that acquires all rights for distribution in the Middle East and North Africa based in Dubai (UAE) and with offices in Kuwait and Lebanon.
Front Row was launched in 2003 by Gianluca & Michel Chakra and currently boasts a film library of close to 1,000 titles.
The company is also partnered with Kuwait National Cinema Company (KNCC) and KSA’s leading cinema chain, MUVI CINEMAS under the banner of Front Row Arabia.
Front Row’s recent releases include the 6-time Academy Award nominated THE FATHER, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, as well as the blockbuster action hit THE MARKSMAN, starring Liam Neeson.
The company’s upcoming slate includes Paul Schrader’s THE CARD COUNTER starring Oscar Isaac, Sean Penn’s FLAG DAY ass well as Michael Gracey’s Robbie Williams biopic, BETTER MAN.
Front Row’s latest production slate includes the Arabic language adaptation of the Italian smash hit feature PERFECT STRANGERS, set to premiere in Q4 2021 and the upcoming horror feature THE QUEEN MARY, directed by Gary Shore.
Terry George is a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
His first dramatic work, the prison escape play, The Tunnel, was staged at the Irish Arts Center in New York in 1986.
The Tunnel was the first of numerous collaborations with writer/director Jim Sheridan.
In 1992 George and Sheridan wrote In the Name of the Father.
The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards including George’s nomination for best screenplay.
In 1996 George was named Young European Film Director of the Year for his directorial debut Some Mother’s Son starring Helen Mirren.
Since then he has written and directed numerous feature films including, The Boxer starring Daniel Day Lewis, HBO’s A Bright Shining Lie, Hart’s War, Reservation Road starring Joaquin Phoenix and The Promise starring Oscar Issac and Christian Bale.
In 2004 he wrote, directed and produced Hotel Rwanda starring Don Cheadle.
The Film was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Screenplay.
In television, his work has included creating and executive producing the CBS TV series The District, and directing HBO’s Luck starring Dustin Hoffmann.
In 2012 his short film The Shore, produced by his daughter Oorlagh George, won the Academy Award for best Live Action Short Film.
About Maryam Naoum
Mariam is a screenwriter. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in scriptwriting from the Higher Institute of Cinema.
She commands a superior range of writing styles with her works including shorts, features, documentaries, advertisements, and television series.
Mariam’s work also focuses on women’s issues and the economically marginalized with her background in social and feminist activism.
For Mariam, film is a medium that mirrors life and society and she is passionate to exploit it as a constant current of human expression. Mariam has led several screenwriting workshops from 2012 onwards and has supervised script development workshops for short and feature films. In 2016, she founded Sard, a writing room that aims to provide a positive and stimulating creative atmosphere for young, amateur writers who are looking to gain skills, knowledge, and experience needed to enter the industry as well as to hone their craft in a distinctive manner.
Previous work credits include ,One/Zero (2009), A Girl named Zat (2013), Heat Wave (2013), Women’s Prisoner (2014), Under Control (2015) and Abu Omar El Masry (2018). Sard projects include Crystal Clear (2019), Between Two Seas (2018), As if it was yesterday (2018)
And Free Fall (2016).
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