Saturday 18th February 2012
“It isn’t part of Arab culture to air your family problems in public life,” says Moroccan TV producer Abdelali Rachami – whose program “THE WHITE THREAD” (AL KHAYT, AL ABYAD) is currently one of the country’s most popular programs. In this show, legendary Moroccan anchor Nassima el Hor helps warring parties – be they from rival families – rival villages, or rivals in love – resolve conflicts in a calm and collected fashion. The show’s subject matter is a pioneering concept in typically conservative and mainly Muslim Moroccan … Read more…
Monday 6th February 2012
Despite frequently being ridiculed as a socially conservative, somewhat parochial society, whose TV output is limited to windy soap operas like “NEIGHBOURS”, Australia has today become the unlikely power-house of a wave of compelling drama. A great example of this is the new hit show “THE SLAP” which has recently become a global success. Based on a best selling novel of the same name, “THE SLAP” premiered late in 2011, takes place in multicultural middle class Australia, specifically Melbourne’s Greek community. The action centres around the events at … Read more…
Wednesday 1st February 2012
Scandinavia has always been joked about in Europe and America as a safe, conservative region, where people drive Volvos, and live in secured, welfare state societies – where nothing much ever really happens. In fact, none of this is true –and in recent years, there is no greater evidence of this than the way Scandinavian film and TV have entered the global mainstream. While once Scandinavia was known for upbeat catchy Abba tunes and colorful Ikea coffee tables – today, its thought of as the home of brooding … Read more…
Wednesday 18th January 2012
In the late 1980’s, a disgraced Brazillian policeman named Wallace Souza was retired from the Manaus police force — implicated in a corruption scandal in the sweltering Amazonian boom-town. The public shame forced Souza to abandon his friends and family and start again. He found an unlikely way to remove the stigma of public disgrace — a new and and exciting venture called….”reality” tv. This was of course, when things started to go really wrong for him… – Since Reality TV arrived in the early 2000’s, its creators … Read more…
Friday 6th January 2012
A recent vampire web series, “Blood and Bone China,” set in the English town of Stoke on Trent, has received more than 250,000 hits on YouTube, and become a break-out hit in the UK. The show is directed by newcomer Chris Stone and stars Hollyoaks actress Rachel Shenton. It is filmed on a low budget around the local area. Stone says: “We’ve had a fantastic response from people all over the world, not just people in Stoke. I’ve had comments from people in the U.S., Canada, and Africa … Read more…
Friday 23rd December 2011
African broadcasting is traditionally associated with ultra-violent, straight to video, low budget action films and creaking melodramas (or “soaps” as they are known), but this may not be the case for much longer. “MOMENTS WITH MO” is the continent’s first “Pan African” syndicated talk show, presented by British-Nigerian Mosunmola Abudu. The daily talk show is filmed in Lagos (and is broadcast on Nigerian channel M-NET), but is syndicated to over 48 African countries and is now available on cable in other parts of the world. Although the show … Read more…
Wednesday 2nd November 2011
Nollywood films and television programs are mainly confined to the Nigerian and African domestic market – but this is beginning to change. As stated in my previous blog, “Nollywood” is the world’s 3rd largest film market – and it produces hundreds of films each year. Though basic, the industry’s standards are beginning to improve, and evidence of this is the recent film “MIRROR BOY” directed by UK based Nigerian film-maker Obi Emilonye. Produced by former BBC Director Patrick Campell, the film was shot on a high budget for … Read more…
Thursday 27th October 2011
Lagos, Nigeria is the home of West African television and cinema, and the world’s third biggest film market. Lagos is Africa’s biggest and fastest growing mega-city, a place plagued by the most chaotic traffic jams I have ever seen – and a power grid which cannot keep up with the city’s rapidly expanding nature. One observer has called it the world’s premier “21st century city.” Though marred by extreme poverty on all sides, and a reputation for violent crime, Lagos has an increasingly professional atmosphere and a rapidly … Read more…
Wednesday 28th September 2011
Cops catching robbers is familiar to us the world over – it’s one of television’s classic genres. Today there are successful police procedural shows all over the world; in South Africa, Australia and Latin America – as well as the more traditional hunting ground of the U.S. and Europe. It’s interesting how these police shows, perhaps more than other genre, unwittingly comment about the society that has produced them. For example, Mexico’s new police procedural, THE TEAM airing on state broadcaster Televisa, has opened a Pandora’s Box by … Read more…
Friday 3rd June 2011
Latin American TV has often been derided as trashy and low quality, saturated by US shows. This isn’t true any more. In fact, Latin America has contributed its very own genre to global programming. It’s called “the Telenovela.” In this region, it’s the most popular form of television program, second only to live football! I’ve lived in both the USA and Latin America for nearly ten years. The changing relationship between these two areas interests me a great deal. It’s a relationship increasingly in the public spotlight in … Read more…
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