Sayed: “The challenge facing the UAE's film industry is to attract foreign resources while promoting indigenous voices.”

Dubai – June 30, 2009: Desert life is an integral part of the imagination of award-winning producer/director Tarif Sayed these days. The cultural heritage and the natural treasures hidden in the UAE’s contemporary borders heavily influence his current projects. With that in mind, Sayed and the crew at his production company, The Frame, are hard at work in developing a new genre of TV programs that integrate the latest multimedia interactive formats with UAE-based content.

“From my experience, I can say that developing the complex scripts and filming techniques of any reality show or documentary – from concept to storyboarding to post-production – can be accomplished by the talent and facilities within the UAE,” said Tarif Sayed, owner and managing director of The Frame, a UAE-based film production company. “The challenge facing the UAE's film industry, however, is to attract foreign resources while promoting indigenous voices.”

Speaking about his latest endeavor, Sayed said: “’Discover UAE’ digs into the forgotten culture and ancient civilizations of the UAE, and brings into focus natural sites that reveal ancient forms of life in the country. With this incredible and first of its kind content in hand, we intend to entertain and educate UAE TV audiences with a new multimedia broadcast program that brings participation, interaction and fun to the country.”

“The Frame’s broadcast crews are scheduled to visit tens of locations to film the country’s attractions and collect first of its kind, exclusive content will be used to populate an Internet portal set up to host the program,” explains Karim Al-Ghoul, Director of the show. “The content will include user generated photography, video and audio material that will be edited into broadcast programming.”

His second project is driven by his fascination with the desert and Bedouin life. Called ‘Nomads,’ Sayed’s new reality show is an ethnic adventure competition with a mystery to unravel. Viewers will witness 17 contestants from around the country who have to explore, live out and unravel the mysteries of Bedouin life, while encountering numerous challenges.

“For 35 days, contestants will struggle to stay in the game. The more they get to know the Bedouin tribes, the better are their chances to unravel the mystery. They will experience the importance of having the right competitive spirit and respect for the Bedouin culture,” he explains.

Rola Najem, executive producer at The Frame, believes that ‘Nomads’ will allow audiences to learn about ancient life in an entertaining way. “By focusing on documentary, reality shows and non-scripted content, we aim to revive our region's history and culture. This is the expertise we hope The Frame will bring to the UAE film industry.”

Sayed is confident that the UAE-based filmmakers have the potential to develop the region’s film making industry. He notes that initiatives like Abu Dhabi’s TwoFour54, Dubai Media City and Dubai Studio City have laid a solid foundation for the development and growth of the broadcast and film production industry.

After producing several successful films and documentaries such as Aytaroun, Music of the Soul and Conflict, The Frame is now focusing on producing a number of unique projects that will turn the spotlight on the UAE.

Sayed, who has worked for more than fourteen years in film industry, is the owner and managing director of The Frame. The Frame specializes in producing content in different languages including English, German, French and Japanese. In the last few years, it has partnered with many regional and international broadcasters such as Dubai TV, Arte German Arte France and NHK.