Disney To Bring Storytellers To Middle East

Disney is in the midst of advanced negotiations with Lebanese director Chadi Zeneddine to finance and produce Arabic-language feature THE LAST OF THE STORYTELLERS, per VARIETY.

This is Disney's first feature in Arabic, and the start of a push to move into the region, which has a population of 300 million people, with two-thirds under the age of 30. It's expected that Disney will announce two additional Arabic-language features in time for the fifth Dubai Film Festival in December.

STORYTELLERS, also produced by Rachel Gandin, will likely start production toward the end of 2009 and will draw upon Arabic folklore traditions for its storyline.

"There's a lot of opportunity for us in the Middle East," a Disney exec told VARIETY, who insisted on anonymity. "There's a lot of room for growth for us. It's the international territory that we're most excited about expanding into."

By Awn