The cinematic stories that come out of the Middle East focus on local culture, social realities, and contemporary issues. What were once only available to those going to the theatre have now become available to not only locals but a global audience.
Streaming services have permanently transformed the landscape, allowing people worldwide to immerse themselves in Middle Eastern culture. The stories that couldn’t be told previously due to censorship, border and cinema limitations now can.
Countries like Qatar, through initiatives like the Doha Film Institute (DFI), already work with their strategic partners to ensure more stories are told. The doors are open for more players, both local and offshore, to participate in this thriving industry.
How Streaming Shares Arab Stories with the World
Once confined to local theatres, stories from the Middle East are now being told globally. An entirely new audience is embracing these stories—and many more are on the way.
Streaming Opens More Global Doors
A consideration for many filmmakers is getting their films and series to a global market. Theatre distribution is one channel, but digital streaming is faster, more economical and reaches a larger audience.
Two standout series from the Arabian market produced and distributed via Netflix that have gained a global audience and popularity are:
- Al Rawabi School for Girls – A Jordanian teen drama series, with a predominantly female cast and crew
- The Exchange – Also focusing on women from the Middle East, this drama series is about the 1980s Kuwait stock market
These two titles are living examples of how partnering with a streaming platform encourages the production of less mainstream content that is regionally-based, but needs to be told.
Doha Film Institute’s Releases Go Global
The Doha Film Institute (DFI) is a key player in Qatar and the wider Middle Eastern movie-making market. Its focus is on telling regional stories that can be delivered to the whole world. The DFI’s strategic partnerships with US film studio Miramax and streaming platforms like Netflix make global distribution possible.
Three success stories from the DFI’s production house are:
- The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Began screening at international film festivals before being distributed to the mainstream film industry
- The Salesman – Won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016, and streaming deals followed
- Capernaum – This July 2018 Cannes Film Festival prize winner also encouraged streaming deals
The DFI wants more regional stories to be told to the entire world, and its digital partnerships are making this happen.
Other MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) countries, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are investing heavily in film production. Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival also distributes regionally produced titles via streaming platforms.
Streaming Platforms in the Middle East
There are four dominant players in the digital streaming market in the Middle East, with Netflix being one of them.
The Streaming Platforms That Dominate
Netflix launched in the Middle East in 2015 and quickly added Arabic-language titles to its library. By then dubbing them into English and other languages, Netflix was able to introduce these films and series to a global audience. Titles like Dubai Bling, Finding Ola and Jinn contain local themes, but they’ve been produced to international standards.
However, Netflix isn’t the largest streaming platform in the Middle East. MBC’s Shahid VIP, with 4.4 million subscribers, has the market share, primarily due to its massive catalogue of locally produced shows and movies.
YouTube comes next with 3.7 million subscribers, followed by Netflix with 3 million and local StarzPlay Arabia with 2.3 million.
Regional governments are also recognising the cultural and economic value of streaming, investing in digital infrastructure and training initiatives to strengthen local content creation ecosystems.
Streaming Assists Independent Filmmakers in Many Ways
While the DFI has programs in place to fund and promote independent filmmakers in the Middle East, it isn’t enough. Streaming giants like Netflix are opening the door for these independent creators by offering them a chance to tell their stories, their way. It does this by providing finance and skirting around local laws.
Another way these partnerships benefit the region is through physical presence. From on-location shoots to post-production facilities, the region has broad opportunities for filmmaking to take place onsite.
Local film laws may prevent some aspects of Middle Eastern stories from being told. As an American-based film production studio, Netflix has the capacity to produce these series and movies. They may not be able to be screened back in the Middle East due to censorship reasons, but they can be distributed globally. The key is getting these stories out to global audiences.
Streaming Platforms Redefine Entertainment
Streaming video used to be all about watching a show or film, whenever the user wanted, with the ability to start or stop and forward or rewind at their leisure. The user interaction doesn’t end there; in fact, it’s evolving.
Netflix has two examples where viewers decide what happens next:
Bandersnatch
In the interactive film Bandersnatch, part of the Black Mirror series, the viewer can decide what happens next at pivotal moments in the plot. There are 250 segments, with billions of alternative story paths. A viewer can rewatch it over and over, choosing different outcomes each time.
Trivia Quest
An animated game show released in 2022, where users, via their remotes, would answer daily trivia questions. Correct answers would see the protagonist, Willy, get the upper hand over villainous Rocky; incorrect answers would favour the latter.
Games are available to play via Netflix on smartphones in the Middle East, and testing has begun on them for the smart TV environment. Streaming is taking on a broader entertainment role. With online gaming rules evolving in the Middle East, seeing more gaming content, including the type covered in the top casino reviews, on streaming platforms soon is a strong possibility.
The Future of Streaming in the Middle East
Generation Z leads the way in global streaming, hence the popularity of this technology. They want instant access on their smartphones and lean more towards short content, which is a new opportunity for filmmakers.
While theatres and full-length feature films will retain their cultural place, streaming platforms are poised to dominate.
More local content will be produced, telling stories that haven’t been told before, and to a global audience. Partnerships with streaming platforms will grow, and there are others eyeing the market. While there are four clear market dominators, there is room for other platforms.
The increased 5G and broadband rollout across the region, plus the increase in smart TV purchases, suggest that the market is set to get even larger.
Where Will Future Content Come From?
The Future Creator’s Program is a DFI initiative aimed at fostering the next generation of storytellers in the Middle East. The program will introduce new filmmakers to experienced ones and equip them with the skills needed to produce their own content.
The Ajyal Youth Festival, also under the DFI banner, is a film festival for those aged 8–25. These young participants are not only the filmmakers but also the judges, giving young creators an early sense of real-world feedback and festival experience. Winners of the festival are given mainstream attention, often leading to funding support for future projects.
Middle Eastern Stories Go Global
Partnerships between Qatar’s DFI with streaming platforms have helped hundreds of local stories be released to the world. The increase in funding to local filmmakers provided by these platforms ensures that these productions will continue to see the light of day.
Theatres worldwide, especially those participating in the film festival circuit, will continue to screen movies from the Middle East. However, it’s the streaming platforms that will have the bulk of the content in their libraries and will get the lion’s share of viewers.
As more partnerships grow with filmmakers and local studios, the digital streaming industry in the Middle East is an exciting place to be. Streaming is not just transforming how Middle Eastern stories are watched—it’s redefining how they’re made.
