RIYADH: Manga Productions company, which is affiliated with the Misk Foundation, hosted a ceremony in Riyadh on Sunday to reveal the results of the Dubbing it in Arabic competition.
The event was attended by jury members from prominent Arab and Saudi dubbing companies, as well as distinguished professionals and influencers in the anime and entertainment industry.
The competition, which took place over two weeks, received over 1,800 entries from across the Arab world. Open to anyone passionate about voice acting, it offered the opportunity to participate in upcoming Manga Productions projects in the anime genre.
A jury panel comprising esteemed figures such as Jihad Al-Atrash, Sanaa Younis, Souad Jawad, and Ibrahim Al-Hasawi announced the winners of the competition that ran from Jan. 30 to Feb. 11.
The panel evaluated the top contenders and gave a score for each participating voice actor. After the votes were counted, the victors were revealed.
Male voice actor Elyas Zoroqi, and Nora, a female voice actor, were declared the winners for their performances in dubbing a scene from a Manga Productions project.
Arabic dubbing artist Al-Atrash told Arab News that the Arab world was currently in an exciting moment as it develops its own entertainments and showcases its culture to the globe.
He said: “The people who took part in the tournament were astounding. This demonstrates how well Manga Productions is working, and it needs to interact with the wide Arab audience everywhere.
“We used to appropriate other people’s cultures rather than our own, but these days we export culture to every country in the world.”
The jury committee praised the competition, which encouraged Saudi and Arab youngsters to make their mark in animated cartoons in Arabic, based on works from Manga Productions.
The CEO of Manga Productions Essam Bukhary said: “Since its inception Manga Productions has taken it upon itself to train and develop talented Arab youth, as we are pleased to embrace these Arab talents in the field of dubbing while involving the distinguished among them in our upcoming artistic works.
“Our pride today is to be part of the journey of developing these talents and enabling them to achieve their dreams and make a positive impact in the Saudi creative industry, exporting Arabic content to be dubbed into international languages.”
Jury member and actor Jawad said: “This competition is a dream that I have dreamed for more than 40 years. The approach that Manga Productions is adopting to stimulate these talents is an outlook that reassures future generations.”
Sanaa Bakr, another member of the jury and voice actor, said: “My happiness is indescribable in being a member of the jury. The participation was amazing.”
Manga Productions, which is a pioneer in the Arab anime community, is dedicated to developing and supporting talents. Through initiatives like Teaching Manga on the Madrasati platform, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, it has reached more than 3 million students.
With its focus on empowering Saudi youth, Manga Productions has trained over 4,000 talents in creative content in a bid to lead the industry.
