Lebanese web shows get Netflix treatment
Despite limited financial resources, the web series genre is growing in popularity in Lebanon, especially among youths.
The web series format is growing in popularity in the Arab world, providing youths and others with an uncensored forum for self-expression and an outlet for social commentary.
“Zyara,” a Lebanese documentary web series, has been attracting international attention since December 2015, winning awards at competitions in Bilbao, Buenos Aires, Dublin, Rome and other European festivals. The first installment of “Zyara,” which means “Visit,” consists of 12 short videos, around five minutes each, in which a person talks about his or her life.
Cinematographer Muriel Aboulrouss, speaking for herself and producer Denise Jabbour, described Zyara as “depicting intimate portraits of various Lebanese individuals sharing their hopes and dreams, stories about love, fears and most memorable experiences.”
Aboulrouss and Jabbour jointly head the production company Home of Cine-Jam and fully funded the first installment of “Zyara” themselves. “Our aim is to tell true stories, to bring people closer together, to touch hearts,” Aboulrouss told Al-Monitor. “‘Zyara’ promotes oneness by exploring universal human emotions outside religion, politics or anything that separates us. ‘Zyara’ is a borderless and limitless web series. It is addressed to every human being on this planet.”
