Mobile telecommunications operator MTN has announced a partnership with LaLiga, the Spanish football league.

European media group Beta Film has acquired worldwide distribution rights of the French adaptation of the TV crime series The Island of Thirty Coffins.

Led by Virginie Ledoyen, the 6×60′ series is based on the novel by Maurice Leblanc, also known for his narratives on the adventures of Arsene Lupin which served as a source for the French series Lupin.

Created by Elsa Marpeau and Florent Meyer, The Island of Thirty Coffins is directed by Frederic Mermoud and written by Elsa Marpeau and Florent Meyer, its acquisition forms part of a planned far larger drive into French drama series by Beta Films.

The Island of Thirty Coffins revolves around Christine, who lost her son at birth 15 years ago. Or so she thought, until she receives a video that could prove that he is not dead. She returns to the island of her childhood in Brittany to get to the truth.

Produced by Thalie Images for France 2, shooting has been wrapped on the Island of Ouessant in Western France last week and is now underway all over Brittany and in Paris.

Speaking about the acquisition, Jérôme Vincendon, EVP International Sales & Acquisitions, French-speaking Europe, Beta Film, said: “We are fascinated by the richness and creativity of the ever-growing and blooming French production market. International success stories, such as Lupin and Call My Agent prove the strong, competitive creation landscape in France and underline its worldwide significance. We are very happy to dive even deeper into the French-speaking market and strengthen our crime slate with The Island of Thirty Coffins.”

Stéphane Moatti, Producer Thalie Images, commented: “It is an amazing opportunity to adapt Maurice Leblanc’s iconic book The Island of Thirty Coffins. The setting on a spectacular island with its disturbing strangeness is the heart of this thriller. I’m excited that this series produced with France Television will travel internationally thanks to Beta Film.”

He added: “During World War One, women came to occupy a huge space in society. It may not be a coincidence that ’30 Coffins’ has a woman at the centre of the story who is highly independent and battling to be free.”

The Island of 30 Coffins was originally published by Leblanc in 1919, just after World War I.

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Source: Broadcastpro ME

The Emirates Mars Mission, the first interplanetary exploration undertaken by an Arab nation, has announced the mission has completed spacecraft and instrument exercises used to practice science observations and is now ready to commence science data gathering. The two-years science mission formally commenced on May 23, aiming to yield the first complete picture of Mars’ lower and upper atmospheres throughout the day, night and seasons of a full Martian year.

Omran Sharaf, Project Director of EMM, said: “Following a successful cruise to Mars, a near-perfect Mars Orbit Insertion manoeuvre and our transition from Hope’s capture orbit to our science orbit, we have completed our commissioning, calibration and testing phase. I am delighted to be able to report that the Mars Hope probe is perfectly positioned to commence its two-year science mission.”

The probe’s three instruments were activated on April 10 and a period of commissioning and testing followed.

Since the Hope probe entered orbit around Mars, the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) instrument has collected nearly 14,000 spectral-spatial images of the atmosphere, corresponding to 1.6m individual spectra. The observations will be repeated throughout the science phase, characterizing the composition and structure of the upper atmosphere as it changes within and across seasons.

The Hope probe Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI) imager has taken over 500 images of Mars since the transition to science orbit took place in early April and will now focus on mapping water ice clouds in the atmosphere as Mars enters its ‘cloudy season’. During this time, spring and summer in the Martian northern hemisphere, a belt of clouds forms near the equator. Hope will have a view of these clouds through its ability to observe the changing dynamics of the atmosphere throughout the daily and seasonal cycles.

The Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS) has been acquiring science demonstration data, refining instrument calibration and routinely processing data since Hope’s arrival at Mars.  In total over 130,000 spectra have been acquired since arrival at Mars. More than 40 science demonstration observations have been acquired that span a significant portion of the planned local time coverage and encompass all observation scenarios. EMIRS will derive the surface temperatures, atmospheric temperature profiles, the column integrated water ice and dust opacities as well as the water vapour abundance over the full Martian day on sub-seasonal timescales. These observations, in combination with those of EXI and EMUS, will provide an insight into Martian weather and links to atmospheric escape processes.

Hope is following its planned 20,000 – 43,000 km elliptical science orbit, with an inclination to Mars of 25 degrees. The probe will complete one orbit of the planet every 55 hours and will capture a full planetary data sample every nine days.

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Source: Broadcastpro ME

Eagle Films Group has entered into a joint venture with Hollywood studio Millennium Media to produce four tier-one Saudi drama series projects with an accumulated production value of $20m. Millennium Media is the home of several major worldwide box office franchise hits, including The Expendables, the Has Fallen series (Olympus, London, Angel), The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Mechanic and the reboot of the Rambo franchise.

Lagoonie Film Production has announced the remake of the classic film Anf w Thalath Oyoun (A Nose and Three Eyes), based on Egyptian author Ihsan Abdel Quddous’ novel. Directed by Hadi Elbagoury and written by the screenwriter Wael Hamdy, the remake is produced in cooperation with The Producers.

E-Vision, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Etisalat, has announced a new initiative identifying the audience’s selections, trends, and desires from eLife, the IPTV service that is set to put the UAE at the forefront of TV audience measurement in the MENA region.

Cinemas and theatres will reopen in Lebanon for the first time in nearly 14 months among other social spaces.

The national committee for Covid-19 decided on allowing cinemas and theatres in Lebanon to operate at 50% capacity until 11 PM from May 23, the first time such institutions can reopen since the health pandemic caused their closure in March 2020.

In addition, weddings, conferences and exhibitions will be able to take place allowing a maximum of 100 people, providing the space does not exceed 50% capacity.

At present only restaurants with outdoor seating are able to open until 12:30 PM., but the new rules will also enable indoor restaurants to open until 11 PM but with bookings at half the room’s capacity.

Rooftop restaurants can also open until 12:30 AM.

There was no decision yet from the committee on the reopening of nightclubs, which have suffered from repeated closures and only a brief reopening period over the December and New Year holiday.

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Source: Broadcastpro ME

Cheeze, Inc., one of the UAE’s first Non-Fungible Token (NFT) minting studios, has appointed Media & Entertainment industry veteran Ceslie Armstrong as Executive Producer and Vice President of Content. She will head up the Cheeze Content Studio, Originals division and all things content-related for the company globally.

Cheeze, the soon-to-be-launched app will allow people to mint their photos into NFTs, giving users the ability to trade and sell them on the blockchain.

In her new role at Cheeze, Inc. she will continue to create premium IP with renowned editorial and fine art photographers, artists, studios, and brands, each with compelling stories to tell. The stories will then be minted onto the blockchain as NFTs and distributed via the Cheeze app, marketplace, and full ecosystem.

Speaking about the appointment, Ceslie Armstrong, VP of Content and Executive Producer of Cheeze, Inc, said: “I’m honoured to be joining the world-class team at Cheeze where the focus is photography and the compelling stories behind them. Finally, photographers can easily showcase their work, mint them to the blockchain and be recognized for their talent.”

Simon Hudson, CEO of Cheeze, Inc, added: “When we started to build the Cheeze NFT product we knew that just showcasing photos would not be enough. Our goal is to bring photos to life and tell the story behind the image. Ceslie joins us as VP of Content and will be heading up our brand-new Originals team. Her wealth of knowledge and expertise in the industry puts us ahead of the rest. We are already working on some amazing projects and Ceslie has instantly become a huge part of the team. It’s an honour to have her join our start-up and I am excited to show the world the magic we are creating together.”

As an award-winning writer; journalist, she has held the post of editor-in-chief, senior editorial positions, and contributed to titles including Grace Woman, Marie Claire, Glamour, Mode, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, and more. She has been featured and quoted in hundreds of publications including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Financial Times, WWD, Forbes, Fortune, & Entrepreneur.

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Source: Broadcastpro ME

Dubai-based network Channel 2 Group Corporation has partnered with Fun Asia Network (FAN) to launch TALK 100.3 – the UAE’s only South Asian sport and business radio station. It will be launched on June 13 in the UAE with build-up and coverage of the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand.