twofour54 attracts new Pan-Arab production to the emirate

Hijjawi Production and Distribution has chosen Abu Dhabi as its main location to shoot a modern drama called ‘Something from the Past’, according to twofour54.

Produced by Essam Hijjawi and directed by Hussam Hijjawi, the production features a Pan-Arab cast including Jameel Barahmeh, Ghada Abbassi, Menia Qedees from Jordan and Habib Ghloum, Haifa Hussein, Huda Al Khateeb, Abdullah Juneibi from the UAE. ‘Something from the Past’ is set in Abu Dhabi, Jordan and the Gulf where a group of people experience a life-changing moment and ensue to follow their dreams and fortunes.

The production will be the latest to benefit from the Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s, ADFC, 30 percent cashback rebate on production spend while taking advantage of the incredible range of locations in Abu Dhabi over the course of the 25-day shoot.

This is the first time Hijjawi Production and Distribution has worked with twofour54 and chosen Abu Dhabi as the main filming location for one of their projects.

The first episode of the show is planned to hit TV screens during the Holy month of Ramadan and is expected to be broadcast on a prime UAE and Jordan TV channels.

Firas Dehni, Director of twofour54 Film and TV services, said, "We are delighted to welcome the cast and crew of ‘Something from the Past’ to Abu Dhabi. We are also pleased that they are tapping into the incredible pool of freelance talent at twofour54 for the production.

"By bringing this series to Abu Dhabi, we are reinforcing our commitment to attract the best in local, regional and international productions to the emirate and to support the creation of quality Arabic content."

Producer Essam Hijjawi, said, "Abu Dhabi is the ideal location for us to produce ‘Something from the Past’, as it offers a wide variety of locations backed up by a pool of multilingual and talented crew as well as very good production support. We are enjoying our time filming in Abu Dhabi, I’m sure that it will be the first of many projects we bring here."

Abu Dhabi has seen a surge in interest as a location for regional Arabic dramas in recent years with 21 Arabic dramas using Abu Dhabi as a location since 2013. This year alone has seen more than 10 Arabic TV productions filmed in Abu Dhabi, including Clacket Media’s ‘Jeeran’ series and MBC’s dramas ‘Haret El Shiekh’, ‘Al Asouf’ and ‘Love without Borders’.

International film productions filmed in Abu Dhabi include ‘War Machine’, starring Brad Pitt, Bollywood’s ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’, starring Salman Khan, as well as two of the top six films of all time, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ and ‘Fast and Furious 7’, thanks to the abundance of diverse locations, modern facilities and talent on offer, as well as the generous ADFC 30 percent cashback rebate