Syrian television drama carries the banner of defending Arab issues and embraces  Arab stars

Based on Syria’s belief in the Arab nation and its constant humanitarian endeavor to stand by the Arab peoples and support them in confronting occupation, colonialism and terrorism, Syrian television drama has worked to embody and consecrate this belonging and this support through production since the founding of Syrian Arab Television until the present day.

The beginning..from black and white

The beginning was with the first dramatic play, “The Stranger,” in 1960, which was presented live in black and white, talked about the Algerian revolution, its heroism and glories, starring Yasser Abu Al-Jabain, Bassam Lutfi, and TharaaDebsi, and directed by Salim Qataya.

There were successive works on this issue, such as the Tamr Hanna series in 2001, written by Ahmed Hamed and directed by Mohamed FerdousAtassi, which delved into the details of the Algerian revolution, highlighting the role of women in national life in the image of the activist Jamila Bouhired, and also the series Memory of the Flesh in 2010, which was taken from a novel bearing the same title, with a script and dialogue by Reem Hanna ,directed by Najda Ismail Anzour, the work talks about a painter named Khaled who lost his arm during the great liberation war against French colonialism, and falls in love with a beautiful girl, the daughter of an Algerian fighter.

What Arab conceptions the Syrian Drama brought light to?!

The Palestinian issue…a fundamental dramatic element

As for the central Palestinian issue, it is always present in the minds of writers; Syrian drama has presented and continues to present many works, including the television debut Izz al-Din al-Qassam 1981.

Lebanon…A journey of resistance..

There are works that touched on the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance, including Letters of Love and War 2007, written by Amal Hanna, directed by Basil Al-Khatib.

Golan heights …a decisive dramatic situation..

There are series that talked about the occupied Syrian Golan, including “Men of Decisiveness” 2010, written by Fayez Bashir and directed by Najdat Ismail Anzour ,it talked about the setback of June 1967 and the crimes of the Israeli occupation, it tells the story of a  teacher called Fares, who participated in the war in defense of the Golan heights and returned to his village to discover the martyrdom of his mother and brother, where he decides to take revenge, by carrying out a commando operation in the occupied territories, where he travels to Germany to reveal and research secrets related to the Mossad to benefit his homeland.

Iraq…a drama in the eyes of the Syrian press..

As for the Iraqi file, it was covered in several series, including Breaking News 2007, written by Bassam Junaid, directed by GhazwanBarijan, about the role of the press and media in combating corruption.

Drama…and the honorable history of Syria…

As part of the resistance to the Ottoman occupation and French colonialism, series were produced such as Abu Kamel in its two parts, 1991 and 1993, written by Dr. Fouad Sharbaji, directed by the late AlaeddinKoksh, in which they presented the period of French colonialism, the Levantine environment, also side stories about patriots, the resistance, and the greed of some for positions.

The drama of the Levantine ambiance…dominates…

Later, most of the Levantine ambiance series touched on the issue of confronting the Ottoman occupation and French colonialism by highlighting the role of the people of the neighborhoods and their cooperation with the men of the revolution, but they fell into similarity and repetition of the same content and stars also going into the style of parts, which made them lose their luster, the most prominent example of which is the Bab Al-Hara series.

Arab unity… through the eye of drama…

At the level of Arab unity, many works have delved into presenting this, including Khan al-Harir in its two parts, 1996 and 1998, written by NihadSiris, where the events of the work took place in the Aleppo market and touched on the people’s desire for unity in the fifties and its achievement, then the difficulties that occurred and led to separation.

Drama… raises issues of terrorism and confronting it…

One of the works that carried the character of boldness in its presentation was Hour Al Ain 2005, written by HalaDiab and directed by Najdat Ismail Anzour, which dealt with the phenomenon of terrorism and the involvement of ignorant youth in it under the name of jihad.

Drama…deals  with the people’s concerns…

In the drama series Dabu Al-Shanati, director LaithHajo, talked about the course of the war and societal concerns in a comedic manner, also Spotlight comic series also touched on terrorism in a light cynical manner.

Historical drama…an existing dramatic history…

Within historical drama, there are many works rich in ancient Arab history, documenting the emergence and expansion of the Islamic State.

Syrian drama..star maker…

Syrian drama did not limit itself to presenting Arab issues and treating them as content, but it also embraced the contributions of Arab stars in its production, including Arab production companies, directors, and actors from the Arab world.

It can be said that the insistence of Syrian drama on purposeful content and the richness of the human cadre made it sit on the throne of Arab drama, competing with others in many respects, achieving a high audience, and remaining constantly shown on Arab satellite channels so that all generations can watch it, and it was also translated into other languages that reached the international level.

Leen Al Salman