Press release from The Lantern Group
Firebreak Productions is a newly established Australian production company that boasts an amalgam of some of the best producers of content in this country. The high profile principals are Peter Herbert, Mark Strong, Mark Joffe and Ivor Findlay, joining forces to create internationally appealing scripted drama and comedy, documentary, children’s programming and game development.
The experience at the core of Firebreak Productions is extensive, credited with major achievements in film, television and digital media. The company will be pursuing projects locally and in all international markets, drawing from their combined network of working relationships across the globe. A flexible, multi-platform distribution model is a priority for all projects on the Firebreak slate, extending the audience experience across venues and devices.
The first project from Firebreak Productions will be The Cradle of Comedy, an episodic documentary that takes a no-holds barred look into the rise of stand-up comedy in the Middle East. Filming will follow a collective of rising stars of Middle Eastern origin, as they take their own comedic style to audiences in occupied territories, war zones and traditional Islamic strongholds to share the universal language of laughter.
The Cradle of Comedy has been commissioned by SBS with funding from Screen NSW through the Research and Development Grant, and shooting will commence October 2010.
“A documentary about stand-up comedy in the Middle East is perfect for us as our first project, as it blends together two things that on the surface don't seem to fit together, but in fact show us some real truths about all of us as people.
We became aware of the growth of the Middle Eastern comedy scene through a number of contacts in Dubai, and when we looked at the calibre of international and local comics involved, we realised there was a rich story that cuts across our preconceptions of the Middle East. This is a high concept project, which goes against the grain of what most producers are doing right now,” says Mark Strong, Principal Firebreak Productions.
Stand-up comedy is relatively new to the Middle East, only emerging in the past five years as an art form. The Cradle of Comedy aims to illuminate the inherent humour associated with modern Arabic and Persian life. Featuring several local comedians as well as US, UK and Australian comedians of Middle Eastern descent, they negotiate the many cultural idiosyncrasies inherent in touring the area, while turning pre-conceptions on their heads and giving a new perspective on living in the Middle East.
Confirmed comedians to date include Ahmed Ahmed, a founding member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour and regular on US TV and film screens; Maria Shehata who has made appearances at New York’s Arab-American Comedy Festival and Underground Comedy Festival, as well as Comedy Central’s The Watch List; and Australia’s Ray Badran who has toured with Ahmed Ahmed, and written for Channel 10’s Good News Week and Channel 7’s The Matty Johns Show.
"There's nothing that cuts through the sludge more quickly than comedy. It makes a point; it makes a splash; and it makes a difference. I think that's what attracted us to the Middle Eastern comedy phenomenon in the first place. Some comedy is observational and some pushes the limits. We want to be part of the push,” says Peter Herbert, Principal Firebreak Productions.
Filming will take place in Australia, Dubai, Kuwait, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the US and UK, with other countries in the Middle East still in negotiations for filming approval.
With filming set to cover the globe, Firebreak will be pushing for international sales at MIPCOM this year for US, UK and Middle Eastern territories, with several international broadcasters and distributors already expressing strong interest.
For more information, click here.