National Geographic ties up with UAE media firm

National Geographic Entertainment will tie up with Image-nation Abu Dhabi to produce 15 documentaries and movies over the next five years, a senior executive of the global media company said on Saturday. "We will be doing films on this region using local talent, producers and local writers," said Tim Kelly, president of National Geographic Global Media. "We want to tell global stories to a global audience," he added. The two companies plan to commit $100 million to the projects. The plan was announced yesterday by Kelly and Edward Borgerding, CEO of Image-nation Abu Dhabi, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media Company. National Geographic Entertainment, a division of National Geographic Global Media, said the films will be budgeted between $5 million and $60 million. National Geographic said it would like to hear the ideas first. "We would like to see what comes from the woodwork before we pick our first project," Kelly said. He said it was very hard to get directors and writers for the project via the Western studios. Image-nation Abu Dhabi was launched last month to develop, finance and produce full-length feature films and digital content for Arab and global markets. From its base in Abu Dhabi, the company is establishing partnerships with international producers to develop and produce content for distribution internationally. Source: Gulfnews