New video production house launches in Dubai
A film production company aimed at “improving” Dubai’s industry has launched in the city.
Originally founded as a photography studio, Meraki has announced the opening of its new video division following a surge in business growth from regional and global clients.
The Business Bay-based enterprise has also plans to open a European base, where the majority of its international work is located.
Meraki currently works with regional agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai and KSA, Mullen-Lowe Dubai and Riyadh and FP7. Internationally, the company counts Ogilvy India, LinkedIn, Porsche Germany, Havas Worldwide and Innocean Worldwide among its client roster.
Hikmat Ghandour, Meraki founder and former stills producer at Magnet, said he launched the venture in response to his growing frustration with Dubai’s current industry.
“I felt that the production houses here lack a lot,” he explained. “They lack people who need not only to understand the production logistics, but also the creative behind all the work.
“Their knowledge about the artists who made our industry what it is today is so small, which is becoming a very frustrating factor for all the locally based talents. They are not helping in advancing this industry but instead they are pulling it backwards.
“We do want to bring change to this industry, or rather improvement. Dubai is a city that is growing extremely fast, but our industry isn’t; hence we would like to catch up and speed this process up because it will not only benefit us, but also everyone else.
“A lot of the talent we have been working with over the past year are international and we would also like to continue growing this while supporting the locally based artists, creating a channel between Dubai and the rest of the world. Dubai is the city that has, and will have everything sooner or later, plus the great weather eight months of the year, so there can be no excuse for us to make this city a prime destination for productions coming from all over the world.”