Dania Nassief and Danya Alhamrani are determined to add something of value to society, so in 2007 they created Eggdancer Productions, a licensed Jeddah-based film-production company that produces films for television.
“We really believe in what we’re doing. To the best of our knowledge, we’re the only ones producing TV shows and documentaries exclusively as opposed to producing TV commercials or renting equipment to others,” said Alhamrani. “It’s been difficult trying to make people understand our work as people here don’t have the concept of what we do.”
Despite this challenge, Nassief and Alhamrani are truly passionate about their work. Their focus is on production for TV shows and documentaries. They handle it from A to Z ... They come up with the idea, they come up with the concept and then they do pre-production, production and post-production for the concept.
Alhamrani’s earlier films included a short documentary in 2002 following four non-Muslims as they try out fasting during Ramadan. Another film titled “The Straight Path” chronicles the day-to-day life Nora, a young Saudi college student studying advertising, as she juggles career and her religious obligations. These enterprising entrepreneurs took diverse routes to realize a shared passion. Dania Nassief graduated from the University of Southampton with a master’s degree in information systems, while Danya Alhamrani graduated from the San Diego State University with a master’s in TV and film production. In 2007, the women succeeded in turning their projects into a licensed production company. But they say the path hasn’t been easy.
“It’s very difficult to work in production especially as women,” said Nassief, Eggdancer Productions chief operating officer. In 2007, Eggdancer produced its first pilot project, entitled “Khushu Almatbakh” (“Get Into the Kitchen”). The idea was to take an unconventional approach to the typical cooking program by using as its host a young man with no culinary experience. They’re currently in negotiations to sell the idea to networks.
“The idea is that if ‘I can do it then you can do it’,” said Alhamrani. “The program is aimed at the younger generation — both boys and girls. People in general are afraid of cooking. We want to show people that cooking is fun.”
Eggdancer has also completed a pilot called “Kalam Kabeer” (“Big Talk”), which features college and high school students — men and women — speaking about themselves.
“We interviewed young people asking them, from a list of prepared questions, about different social issues. Littering, poverty, love...etc,” said Alhamrani. “What was interesting is that when we framed the questions, we also wrote down answers we expected from the young boys and girls. But when we did the show none of what we expected was said ... So we had to rethink our concept and rework everything and this too was very interesting for us.”
One of the problems Nassief and Alhamrani faced while working on “Kalam Kabeer” is that people were very wary of being on TV. When they had initial interviews with the candidates, everyone talked freely.
“But they never say the same stuff on TV ... There are still social constraints. People are still worried about how their families will react,” said Alhamrani.
During last year’s Haj season, Eggdancer Productions teamed up with a leading Canada-based production company to create an IMAX film about the Haj. “I was the only woman working in the field. Working on the IMAX film was an amazing learning experience,” said Alhamrani.
In an attempt to show the world a different side of Saudi Arabia, Alhamrani submitted a video to a contest hosted by the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” program, which featured renowned chef Anthony Bourdain as he travels the world trying out exotic, regional cuisines. The submission was selected out of 1,300 films, and because of Alhamrani’s work Bourdain came to Jeddah in May to produce an episode of his program. The footage is currently in post-production. In the short piece, Alhamrani offered to take Bourdain on a tour of Jeddah’s diverse cuisine, including traditional bedou food such as roasted camel meat and dubb, a species of desert-dwelling lizard.
“Ms. Alhamrani is a rather extraordinary woman, and it’s a real opportunity here to work with her and to learn more about a country that for many remains a mystery,” said Bourdain on the website for his program. “I know that few Americans really know anything about Saudi Arabia and everyday Saudi life — I certainly do not. Danya proposed a very well-thought-out, well-balanced hour of television in a place entirely out of my previous range of experience — and that is where we’re going.”
The episode features Saudi food in a program that will air to millions of television viewers abroad. Alhamrani worked as Bourdain’s “fixer,” a term that applies to locals who help out foreign correspondents and producers with a range of tasks, from translating to acquiring permissions to film.
“I was pretty confident that there would be interest since this is an area of the world where there aren’t many visitors and people are interested in knowing more about it,” she said.
Despite the thrill of bringing a superstar chef to Jeddah to celebrate the city’s wide array of cuisine, Alhamrani laments the general attitude that only foreigners have the talent and permission to produce films in Saudi Arabia.
“We bring people from outside to come and make films about us and pay them millions and millions and millions,” she said. “We don’t trust our own people to tell our own story. And when these people are paid these hefty sums to tell a story about us, they get it all wrong,” said Alhamrani. “With Anthony Bourdain I had a great experience. It’s not about politics. It’s about the food, the people and the culture. We’re hoping it’s going to be different so I’m waiting to see ... You never know until the edit is over,” said Alhamrani.
Another problem that frustrates the Eggdancer Productions team is that Saudi corporations and Saudi individuals offer small amounts of money to local producers expecting them to offer them the world.
“So many times BBC comes here and makes stuff happen ... They get to do stories that we can’t do. It’s frustrating to see others doing these things, but not us,” said Alhamrani.
The Eggdancer Productions webpage - www.eggdancer.com — has helped connect these two enterprising young Saudi women them with people from all over the Kingdom and outside the country.
“We’re getting worldwide recognition. We have people writing to us from Italy, US, India ... etc,” said Alhamrani. “Our vision is to incorporate an educational component in our films to add something to society and to build the skills of local people and help them develop who they are in this industry,” she added.
